It's Love; Now Or Never
by BrokenAndDiscarded
Summary: Princess Zelda is betrothed to a man she does not love... But not if the Goddesses have anything to say about that! Part Six (Sections one and two) have been uploaded and this is the end, folks! :*( A tear! Please read & review! Thanks for everything!
1. Part One: The Destiny Of Two

Author's Note:   
  
Hello to all. This is a romantic Link/Zelda fic that I've decided to write. It's a romance/drama/smidgen of comedy. It takes place in the Ocarina of Time setting, after Zelda sent Link back and they grew up to be 18. There personalities are a little unlikable in the beginning but that's only because I wanted to make believable strife between them. There wouldn't be much conflict if they were both wonderfully pleasant and perfect people, now would there? No adult themes or swearing in this story. Good for the whole family! ^_^   
  
OK, with that out of the way, please read ~ review ~ and enjoy!  
  


**It's Love; Now Or Never**  


  


By *Jasmine*  


  


**Part One: The Destiny Of Two**  


  
Zelda's nanny, Impa, stood impatiently by her charge's dressing room door and her arms were crossed about her ample chest. The silver haired Sheikah woman called, "Just come out, Zelda. I'm sure you don't look that bad..."   
  
The young woman behind the door chortled, "No, I do! I'm never coming out!"   
  
Impa shook her head and sighed. The nursemaid was use to the Princess's stubbornness by now and she sighed, "O please, Zelda, just get your fanny out here."   
  
There was an audible humph from the other side of the door and then they swung open. A petite blonde girl came walking out dressed in a pink pouffy dress and a big bow was sown on the rear end. The sleeves looked like two massive puffs that swallowed up her arms and her skirt bellowed out all around her. A scowl was stamped on her pretty pail face as she stood in front of the mirror and grumbled, "I look like a girl's play doll."   
  
Impa had to stifle a chuckle as she replied, "Well, I think it looks nice..."   
  
"Don't lie to me. You know I look like a pink mutant," the girl pouted and crossed her arms about her chest, her long flaxen hair flowing down her back.   
  
Impa took the girl's hair in her hands and began to braid it. "The tailor in the market made it just for your eighteenth birthday. He will be crushed if you don't wear it," the old Sheikah woman said and then she took the long braid and coiled it up on the girl's head, pinning it in place.   
  
Zelda peered into the mirror and muttered, "You'd think he made this for my tenth birthday instead."   
  
The Sheikah woman gave her a stern look and sighed, "O come now, Zelda. He had good intentions."   
  
"Yes, maybe so. But there is no way I am wearing this disaster. Write him a letter and say it was ripped to shreds by a squad of angry fashion police or something. I'm sure he'll understand," the young woman retorted and pulled at the huge bow dominating the seat of the dress in annoyance.   
  
Suddenly there was a knock at Zelda's bedroom door and a man's voice called, "Zelda dear, it's daddy."   
  
Impa went and opened the door to reveal a tall, broad-shouldered blonde man standing there. His mature handsome face was dusted with a sandy beard and his eyes were an intense blue. He smiled at his daughter and said, "You look beautiful, Zelda."   
  
Zelda pouted her lips and replied, "No, I don't. I'm not wearing this thing."   
  
The tall man nodded, knowing how his daughter can be sometimes, and responded, "You can go out tomorrow and buy a dress then. Make sure you get one before Wednesday..."   
  
"Sure, daddy," the young woman said but then asked him, her face a mask of puzzlement, "But why before Wednesday? I thought my party was on Friday."  
  
The King of Hyrule looked at his daughter and said, "There has been something I have been meaning to tell you, Zelda..."   
  
The girl could sense sadness and anxiety in her father's voice and she said softly, "What is it, daddy?"   
  
"Well, you see, Zel," the man began and his eyes cast downward. "You will still have your party on Friday... Just not here in the Castle..."   
  
Zelda asked, "Where then? Are we going to Lake Hylia?" She remembered having a party at the Lake when she turned six but that was a pool-party of sorts, she didn't say anything but she felt too old to go splashing around in the water for her birthday.   
  
Her father shook his head and said, "No... In Fawaee..."   
  
The young woman flushed of color and gasped, "But that's the neighboring kingdom father!"   
  
"Yes, I know, dear," he replied, "Remember how two years ago, on your sixteenth birthday, I told you its law that the Princess must be married by her eighteenth birthday..."   
  
Zelda's pail icy blue eyes went wide with disbelief as she spluttered, "Yes, but I thought you were joking because you never mentioned it after."   
  
"I wasn't joking, I wish I was. The Prince of Fawaee has offered to become your husband..." began the King but he was interrupted by his daughter's outburst.   
  
Zelda cried out, "Gaelith? That arrogant, pompous, self-centered snob!"  
  
The King of Hyrule sighed, "Now Zelda, he's really quite a nice young man. He's intelligent and a good provider. You will be safe and well taken care of."   
  
The young woman rolled her eyes and grumbled, "He's a jerk! I'd rather marry the stable boy and live in poverty then be that snot's wife."  
  
Zelda's father had had enough of his daughter's disobedience and he snapped, "Well, it's your own fault, Zel, you dug your own grave on this one. You rejected every young man in our kingdom..."   
  
Zelda crinkled her nose and challenged weakly, "Because they were all too... unrefined..."  
  
"I've had enough, Zelda. You are my daughter and as such you must do as I say. I have chosen Gaelith as a suitable man for you to marry and that's that. Pack your things, buy a nice dress, and say your good-byes for you leave tomorrow morn," the King trumpeted angrily and then stormed off.   
  
The beautiful Princess stood in her expensive, oversized bubblegum colored dress and her pink lips trembled. She tried to hold back the tears that threatened to overcome her as the reality of her trapped fate crushed down on her. The old nursemaid, Impa, stepped foreword and whispered, "O Zelda," before enveloping the girl in a comforting hug. Zelda buried her face in Impa's strong shoulder and finally let the tears spill forth.   
  


~*~  


  
O that's just horrible!" Nayru gasped to herself. The enchanting Goddess of Wisdom looked down into a rock pool at the scene within the Palace that glistened against the rippled surface of the clear sparkling water. She had watched the exchange between the King and his daughter with prying eyes as she often did for amusement. Her long blue hair swept around her and down her back in long loose waving curls and she wore a thin pail blue shimmering shift that barely brushed the tops of her creamy thighs. Her naked feet sunk into the wet sand of the pond's coastline and tiny pebbles rolled over her toes.   
  
Farore, the Goddess of Courage, stood up atop an outcropping of rocks, peering down at a small softly roaring waterfall with intense emerald eyes. She wore a short dress of green fabric and a blooming pink flower was tucked behind her ear. Her shoulder length, straight, dark green hair glistened in the sun and her beautiful face was adorned with a dazzling and challenging grin. With a whoop, she suddenly leaped off the rock; head first, her body forming a sleek arrow shape. Farore disappeared beneath the surface of the pond and after a moment, bobbed upwards, her hair plastered to her wet forehead. She smiled brightly in triumph and pleasure and turned to her blue-haired sister as she swam towards the shore. "What's the matter, Nay?" she asked.   
  
The Goddess of Wisdom looked over at Farore and answered, "I was watching the mortals again."   
  
The tall and powerfully built Goddess of Power, Din, was a bit farther away from her two sisters and she stood alone. Her long scarlet hair was tied back in a sweeping ponytail and she wore a dress of red satin and brown boots that reached mid-calf. "Why do you always concern yourself with those Hylians, sister? They are so simple and common, " the beautiful Goddess asked snidely and concentrated her powers so that her hands began to glow red. Suddenly a crackling fireball appeared within her palms and she shot it foreword, searing away at the bark of a nearby tree.   
  
"But they are not simple. Their lives are so full of anxiety and drama," Nayru retorted and then added with a sigh, "And I wish you wouldn't do that, Din, you'll harm the trees."  
  
Din rolled her scarlet eyes and snorted, "O please, Far will just heal them after I'm through like always." She throttled another ball of blazing flames and it hit another tree.   
  
By now, the green haired Goddess of Courage had made her way to shore and she wrung out the hemline of her sopping dress, little drops of water beading on the sand. She looked to her sister and inquired curiously, "What did you see, Nayru?"   
  
The slender Nayru replied, "It was the Princess of Destiny. Her father is making her marry a man who she does not love."  
  
"You are right, sister, that is dreadful!" the brave-hearted Farore gasped.   
  
Din again interjected with a stinging jab, "Will you two stop entertaining yourselves with the petty lives of those humans? It's shameful."   
  
"No, it's not, Din. The mortals may be of weaker life forms but their lives are more perplex then even ours!" the Goddess of Wisdom countered.   
  
The short petite Goddess of Courage chimed in, "We can't let this happen. We must help the girl."   
  
Nayru nodded her head and furrowed her slender blue eyebrows. "Yes, but how?" she thought quietly. Then an idea struck her and she cried out, "Ah ha, I know now. Remember the Hero of Time?"   
  
Farore smiled at his memory yet still looked confused. "Yes, I do. He was very true and brave of heart... I always thought he and the Princess would be a perfect couple yet they never seemed to quite hit it off right..."   
  
The blue haired Goddess returned the grin with a beautiful one of her own and said, "Yes, as did I. I think that perhaps if they had more time they would see they are destined for one another. That is why we must get them together!"   
  
"O now I see! But how, Nayru?" the Goddess of Courage asked.   
  
Nayru's deep crystal eyes turned thoughtful as she said softly, "I'm not quite sure but we will have to figure out a way."   
  
Din watched the two Goddesses plotting from far off and shook her head. She called to them, "Just remember that I had nothing to do with this, sisters!"  
  


~*~  


  
Closing Notes:   
  
So what did you think? Good? Not good? I hope it was the first one since I did try to make it enjoyable! Please review and check for my next chapter! I promise that one will be longer. Thanks and you all rock! ^_^  
  
  



	2. Part Two: Fawaee Bound

**  
**

Author's Note:   
  
Hello to all. This is a romantic Link/Zelda fic that I've decided to write. It's a romance/drama/smidgen of comedy. It takes place in the Ocarina of Time setting, after Zelda sent Link back and they grew up to be 18. There personalities are a little unlikable in the beginning but that's only because I wanted to make believable strife between them. There wouldn't be much conflict if they were both wonderfully pleasant and perfect people, now would there? No adult themes or swearing in this story. Good for the whole family! ^_^   
  
OK, with that out of the way, please read ~ review ~ and enjoy!  
  


**  
It's Love; Now Or Never **  


  


By*Jasmine*  
**  
  
Part Two: Fawaee Bound**  


  
The morning sun was still cresting over Hyrule's rolling hills when Zelda and her father stood at the drawbridge together with Impa and some men. They had horses ready and were loading up the Princess's many packs.   
  
The King smiled at his daughter, trying to brighten her dapper mood, and said cheerfully, "It looks like the beginning of a beautiful day."  
  
Zelda stood nearby with a cold expression on her attractive face and she wore a white cloak tied around her neck. "Yes, too bad I can't say the same about my life," the Princess said crossly.   
  
Her father sighed, realizing his attempts would all fail, and then looked off into the distance. He mumbled to himself, "Where is that boy?"   
  
The Princess's clear blue eyes narrowed like jagged shards of ice and she asked with suspicion, "What boy?"   
  
Her question was answered however by the sight of a young man dressed in an emerald tunic and hose galloping across Hyrule Field on a chestnut mare. The young man's blond hair reflected the sunlight as he came speeding toward them.   
  
Zelda groaned, knowing full well who it was, and grumbled sarcastically, "O great, another wonderful surprise. This day just gets better and better by the minute."   
  
As Link neared the drawbridge, the King turned to his daughter and said sternly, "Now Zelda, I asked Link to escort you to Fawaee. He is doing us all a favor so please at least try to be cordial to him."   
  
The young man halted his horse and swiftly dismounted. He turned to the King and Princess with a broad smile on his handsome face; sweat beading at his brow (and disgusting Zelda). He said, "I'm sorry for being late, my King. Epona just didn't want to get moving this morning."   
  
Zelda huffed softly, "I have a feeling it wasn't your horse who was unwilling to move..." and she glared at the young man.  
  
The King spoke to silence his outspoken daughter, "That's quite all right, Link. We are all still very grateful to you for offering to protect our Princess o her travels."   
  
The young Kokiri man nodded his head and responded, staring defiantly back at Zelda with dark blue eyes, "Well, I wouldn't say I offered exactly... But whatever I am able to do to aid my kingdom I am more then happy to do."  
  
"I wish I could say the same," Zelda whispered harshly.   
  
The King turned to his daughter, not hearing her comment, and smiled sadly. "Well, daughter, have a good trip and promise to write me when you reach Fawaee, OK?"   
  
Zelda nodded, "OK, daddy."   
  
The man hugged his daughter firmly and his eyes glistened with tears. "I love you, Zel," he said softly to her and then kissed her forehead gently.   
  
"I love you too, daddy," she responded, her anger melting away into sorrow for the time being.   
  
Then Impa approached the girl and she looked at the young Princess thoughtfully. She inquired, "Did you pack your clothes, a hair brush, soap, your stationary, and those rose seeds I gave you?"  
  
Zelda nodded and smiled softly at her caring nanny. "Yes, Impa, all of it," she replied.   
  
The Sheikah woman tried to hold back her tears but a drop plummeted down her cheek as she pulled the girl, who was almost like a daughter to her, into a tight hug. "You've certainly grown up into a beautiful young woman, Zelda. Take care and I'll try to come and visit once you get all settled into your new home," the old woman wept.  
  
The Princess pulled back from her girlhood protector's arms and said, "Thank you... for all that you have ever done for me. I'll look foreword to you coming then, my dear Impa."  
  
Then Zelda walked over to her white stallion where Link was tightening her pack to it. "What did you put in here, your stone collection?" the man grunted as his muscles bulged and he finally hooked the satchel up to the rear of the horse.   
  
The young woman sniffed, "That's just the bag full of my shoes.A girl needs her things you know."   
  
"Of course," he responded with a roll of his eyes. Then he moped his brow and turned to the Princess. He wiped his hand on his tunic and then offered it to her. "Need help?" he asked.   
  
She didn't want his assistance but she was wearing a skirt after all and that made it tough to mount a horse. Zelda nodded and then ordered coldly, "But don't you dare try anything."  
  
Link looked solemn, as he replied, "No of course not." He helped her lift up on her white steed and as she came halfway up and had a firm grip on the reins, he let her hand go and gave her a soft pat on her rump playfully.   
  
The Princess gasped in horror and sat promptly down on her saddle. She shot the young man a deadly look as he went over to his horse and mounted it. "Why of all the horrible, pigheaded, cruel things..." she fumed in outrage.   
  
The young man merely smiled and responded flippantly, "O thank you, I do what I can." Then he lightly kicked Epona's sides with the insides of his heels and began to ride off. The guards on their horses all followed him.   
  
Zelda looked back at her father and nursemaid and waved good-bye. She stared at her Castle, her childhood home, and tried to etch the way it looked, with its gray mortar stones glowing in the morning sunrise, in her memory forever.   
  
"Are you coming or what?" Link called to her, breaking into her thoughts.   
  
The Princess started up her steed and scoffed, "Yes, unless you plan on proceeding to Fawaee without me."   
  
Link grinned teasingly at her as her horse caught up to his and he responded lightly, "The thought had crossed my mind."   
  


~*~  


  
They rode all day along the fields and plains of Hyrule. The afternoon sun had heated their backs and the perfect day made it a pleasant travel. Grasshoppers bounced along in the thigh-high grass and the horses trotted at a nice pace as Zelda and Link traded banter now and again.   
  
Soon the grasslands gradually transformed into rocky outcroppings and crags. The dark dirt soon changed into soft shifting red soil and the tall vegetation began to disappear until only small patches of thick tufts of grass could be found here and there along the tundra of scarlet rocks. The horses climbed the elevated trail, their snorts echoing along the empty cliff faces.   
  
Because the path was so narrow, Zelda was forced to follow Link. Now she looked at this land in awe and asked quietly, "Where are we?"  
  
Link struggled to stay on his horse as it shifted its weight up asteep incline and then he turned his face slightly to her, the setting sun illuminating his handsome features, "Death Mountain. Haven't you ever been to this part of your own kingdom before?"   
  
The Princess glanced around nervously and she said, "No, my father never let me go here nor the Desert Colossus. He said it was too dangerous."  
  
"No wonder you're so sheltered," the young man replied with a shake of his head.   
  
Zelda glared at him and sneered with a cock of her slender golden eyebrows, "Well, excuse me, but at least its better then being raised like a savage by Faerie Children and a Talking Tree."   
  
But Link ignored her comment and halted his horse, scanning the area with his dark azure eyes.   
  
The Princess shifted on her saddle anxiously and asked, trying to disguise her fright, "What is it?"   
  
The young man swung his leg over the saddle and dismounted. "We are going to camp here," he responded without question and began to untie his pack.   
  
"What! Are you crazy? Didn't you hear me? They call this place Death Mountain for a reason, Link!" the Princess cried out sharply. The three soldiers on horseback all stepped off their steeds and began to take off their knapsacks. She turned to them with commanding, sharp pail blue eyes and ordered, "Get back on your horses, there is no way we are stopping here for the night."   
  
The men all paused to look at both Link and their Princess, unsure of who to follow.   
  
The young blond haired man looked at Zelda with impatience, not anger, and pointed to the skyline. "The sun is setting, Zelda. We have only an hour or less left of daylight, that's not enough time to clear the mountain. If we continue on we will be stuck out in complete darkness to stumble around a dangerously steep rock face, I don't think that's such a good idea," Link informed.   
  
The Princess gazed at the red and golden rays that cast themselves about the mountain and blended into the bright cerulean sky like the brush strokes of a painting. She knew that Link was right, soon it would be night. Yet she stuck out her chin defiantly and snapped, "Fine then, I can go on my own. If I move fast enough I'm sure I can make it out of here before nightfall."  
  
Link shook his head and sighed, "Normally I'd be more then glad to have you off my back but I swore to the King that I'd watch after you and I intend to keep that promise. Now either you dismount that horse or I'll have to make you."  
  
Zelda glared at him with venom in her eyes and seethed stubbornly, "I'd like to see you try."   
  
The young man shrugged and then walked over to the Princess. Without a word, he lifted the slender girl off her horse and threw her over his shoulder like a satchel. Zelda was too shocked to speak as Link carried her over to a flat clearing and placed her down on her feet. Looking her square in the eyes, he chided tauntingly, "Now be a good girl and stay put."   
  
The Princess face was flushed with embarrassment and outrage and she finally managed to stammer, "How dare you! I could have you thrown in jail for talking down to me!"  
  
Link merely said nonchalantly, "There are no jails out here, your Highness, but maybe when we reach Fawaee you can make good on your word." Then he turned his back to her and began to go get the rest of their packs. The soldiers all remained quiet as they helped Link heft the bags and listen to Zelda mumble harsh words in Link's direction.   
  


~*~  


  
Night covered the mountain and dusted it in a blanket of radiant stars. A blue swollen moon hung high in the dark sky and illuminated the rocky inlaids and edges that surrounded the weary travelers on all sides. They sat around a small fire, eating a dinner of beans and bread. Zelda looked down ather plate and wrinkled her nose. She pushed it away to the side and gazed around at the solemn faces that sat together on the ground, illuminated by the crackling red fire light. Yet she noticed the Hero of Time was not among them.   
  
"Where is Link?" she questioned her soldiers.   
  
One of her men replied between spoonfuls of beans, "I think he said he wanted to practice a little before bed."  
  
Practice what? The Princess wondered yet didn't say anything. Instead she rose, dusted off her long pail pink skirt, and began to walk away from the campsite. Her expensive shoes scrapped against the rocks as she followed a set of boot prints embedded in the soft red dirt and grappled with her small smooth hands against outstanding boulders. Soon she came to a relatively flat plateau looking over a steep raven and Link was standing out alone on it.   
  
The young man had his back to her and his tunic was removed to reveal a bare tan chest lined with muscles and sweat so that it gleamed in the moonlight. Still unaware that he had an audience, Link continued with his exercise, outstretching his sword and making slashes through the air. His metal blade moved so fast it looked like a silver ribbon wavering in the night's breeze.   
  
Zelda's heart beat faster in her chest at the sight of him like this and yet she was unable to explain why. The young woman took a step closer to get a better view of the half-naked young man and a pebble rolled under the heel of her shoe.   
  
Link's ears perked up and he stiffened a bit. Then in an instant, he did a backwards flip through the dark night sky, landing closer to Zelda, and pointed his sword tip directly at her.   
  
The young woman gasped softly, her pail blue eyes growing wide and staring at the blade.  
  
A lopsided grin came over Link's face and he lowered the sword. "You're a little spy I see, Princess?" he inquired jokingly.   
  
Zelda asked in admiration of his skill, "How did you know I was here?"   
  
"Once a Hero of Time, always a Hero of Time. I still have my skills," the young man responded and slashed his sword quickly to prove his point. Then Link added, "Plus, I could hear those expensive shoes a mile away."   
  
The Princess smiled mischievously and began to remove her cream-colored slipper shoes. "Then lets see how good your skills are when its a fare fight," she opposed him before tossing her heels over to the side and letting her bare feet touch the cool rock surface.   
  
Link looked at the girl and wrinkled his brow. "Are you challenging me?" he asked in disbelief.  
  
"What? You've got a hearing problem now all of a sudden?" Zelda joshed lightly and her long blonde ponytail brushed her back.   
  
The man chuckled, "No, its just I never thought you even knew how to hold a sword, never mind fight with one."  
  
The Princess shrugged off his comment and retorted, "Yes well, I think after living in a Castle filled with knights and Sheikahs for your whole life, you pick up a thing or two... Now are you going to fight or would you rather talk all night?"  
  
Link laughed and shook his head. This Princess was certainly full of surprises. Then he walked over to where his tunic and belt were lying on the ground. He unsheathed a smaller blade and tossed it to Zelda. "Here, this one is much lighter," he said smugly.   
  
The Princess caught the hilt of the small sword and answered confidently, "You'll soon realize you'll be the one needing all the advantages, sir." Then the young woman swiftly began her barrage of assaults and her sword hissed over the air smoothly.   
  
The young man blocked every strike but was however forced to step back a bit. Soon he steadied himself and admitted teasingly, "I must say I am impressed, Zel. If I didn't know any better I'd say you fight just as well as any man."  
  
Zelda laughed, "I could say the same to you... If I didn't know any better of course." Her sword weaved through the air in pace with Link's movement and she said, "The way Impa taught me is that good swordsmanship is just like dancing. A step for a step, a turn for a turn..."  
  
"Then maybe," Link responded as he slashed foreword and his blade cut through Zelda's left shirt strap, glittering lightly over her skin like a feather's breezy touch. "I should take the lead."   
  
The girl gasped and seethed in rage, "This is a new shirt!"   
  
"Send me the bill," Link responded flippantly.   
  
Zelda growled and struck out, her sword grazing just above his shoulder and barely missing him.   
  
The young man laughed and the blue orbs of his eyes reflected the swollen moon. "Why don't we make this a friendly bet, eh?" he asked.   
  
The headstrong Princess nodded and responded, "Fine. If I win then I get to lead us tomorrow."  
  
Link put on his adorable half-sided grin and said smugly, "... And if I win then you must kiss me."   
  
"What!" Zelda shouted in surprise.   
  
The young man took his chance and caught the Princess off guard, his sword flashing through the air to make a horizontal slash in the fabric ofher skirt. Zelda squeaked in dismay and looked down at her ruined clothing inshock. Then she leaned over and tore away the remainder of the skirt so that the hemline fell about mid-thigh. "I can't believe you did that!" she exclaimed in anger.   
  
"What? It looks better that way," he responded matter-of-factly and glanced down at her long, thin legs. "You know, you should show those off more often, they aren't half bad," he mused, gesturing to her naked bottom half.   
  
The Princess narrowed her gemstone blue eyes and her sword danced through the air just by the top of his head. He stiffened, hoping he hadn't angered so much she was prepared to kill him, and a small strand of his flaxen hair fluttered to the ground.  
  
"No fair," he pouted and watched the lock of golden hair fall to the floor.   
  
The Princess giggled and responded, "It looks better that way. I always thought your hair, among other things, made you look like a woman."  
  
Link's jaw dropped open and then he flexed the muscles in his right arm, causing Zelda's heart to flutter. "Would a woman have arms like these, huh?" he retorted.   
  
Zelda merely arched one silken eyebrow and said smugly, "O please, ever heard of over-compensation?"   
  
The man narrowed his eyes at her and then decided he'd had enough of this little sword fighting game. He moved foreword in a flash, wielding his sword with enough force to knock Zelda's weapon out of her hand and sending it spinning over the raven. He watched it plummet into a little gleaming speck far below and sighed disappointedly, "O darn, that was a good small sword too..."  
  
The Princess looked shocked that the young man could overpower her in a matter of mere seconds. Then she grumbled, "I'm glad it fell away, you deserve it."   
  
Link turned to the petite young woman standing before him in a torn dress and smiled devilishly. "It looks like I won the bet and you know what that means?" he said fiendishly.   
  
Zelda looked nervous as she stammered, "Uh ya... Can I get a raincheck?"   
  
"Now Zel, you promised," the man said.   
  
The Princess blushed faintly and her pulse raced. Why was she behaving like a lovesick schoolgirl? After all this was Link, the most thickheaded and pompous man she had ever met, not an actual gentleman. Zelda rolled her blue eyes and sighed miserably, "Ok fine, close your eyes then. I'm not very well going to do it while your watching me."  
  
Link nodded and closed his eyes. He couldn't deny that he was looking foreword to this, of course every man wouldn't mind getting a kiss from one of the most beautiful women in Hyrule... But what was he thinking? Zelda might be gorgeous, but she was also spoiled, self-centered, and vain. He could never have feelings for a girl like that, right? He calmed the feverish thoughts that ran through his brain and stood still, waiting for his kiss.  
  
After a few minutes of silence and the gentle whistling of the wind in his pointed ears, Link heard a gentle pitter patter of naked feet running over rocks and giggles echoing far off in the distance. Link opened his eyes to see a void of only dark night stars in front of him and a young woman's playful shout, "Nice going, Hero!"   


  
~*~  


  
Nayru peered over her rock pool and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth in dismay. Her long wavy dark blue strands of hair fell in front of her pail attractive face and wavered in the gentle night breeze. "Why do these young mortals play such games? It's so obvious that they harbor feelings for one another," the beautifully somber Goddess of Wisdom sighed.   
  
Up above, a dark night sky camouflaged the Goddesses' Enchanted Realm in shadows and a blanket of studded flickering stars. The pregnant moon hung high up in the velvety expansion and cast a cool pallor over the rolling land and lush outstanding trees.   
  
The shorter, curvaceous Goddess of Courage was sitting by her side, braiding together strands of long grass. Her straight shoulder length emerald hair fluttered about her shoulder blades and she looked up to her sister with large dark jade eyes. "Its not going well, eh Nay?" she asked forlornly.   
  
"No, not at all," the azure-hued Goddess responded. "And I cannot figure out why. They both hide their love as if it is shameful, why won't they just admit their true intents?"  
  
Din was walking around them, pretending to do this and that, and her high boots swirled the grass around them and flattened the individual blades. Her long scarlet ponytail swished against her back as she strided past, huffing as she went, "Because they are just simple Hylians, sister. They have no deep feelings, if they say that they loath each other then they evidently really do."   
  
Nayru gazed up at the Goddess of Power with intense cerulean eyes and inquired with a raised slender eyebrow, "But I thought you weren't watching the mortals, Din?"   
  
A crimson flush overcame the Goddess's cheeks and she crinkled up her pointed nose. "I am not! I only glance at it when I walk by. Honestly, why would I care about the boring lives of a few little weak life forms?" Din said with indignity in her voice.   
  
Farore giggled slightly to herself and shook her head softly at her sister's antics. "That still leaves us with what we are going to do with the Princess and the Hero of Time," the young Goddess of Courage said and, finishing her braiding, lifted the grass strand up and let it be carried away by a placid breeze. The beautiful Farore watched as the emerald thread danced among the stars and over the treetops, into the black night abyss.   
  
The Goddess of Wisdom tapped her chin with a tapered finger and gazed absentmindedly into the rock pool. "This will be harder then I thought... But we must think of something, it's not fair to let the unfortunate Princess bind herself to a loveless marriage. Give me time, I will come up with a plan," Nayru declared and let a long finger from her other hand reach out and stroke the surface of the small millpond with her tip, creating a tiny eruption of ripples to spiral out.   
  


~*~  


  
  
  
  
Closing Notes:   
  
Here's the second Chapter, I hope it lived up to all your expectations! This is a bit longer then the first, though I hope to make the other ones even a bit more extensive. Please come back for my next installment and thanks so much for your time! Please review and have a good day!   
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	3. Part Three: The Shadows In The Wood

  
Author's Note:   
  
Hello to all. This is a romantic Link/Zelda fic that I've decided to write. It's a romance/drama/smidgen of comedy. It takes place in the Ocarina of Time setting, after Zelda sent Link back and they grew up to be 18. There personalities are a little unlikable in the beginning but that's only because I wanted to make believable strife between them. There wouldn't be much conflict if they were both wonderfully pleasant and perfect people, now would there? No adult themes or swearing in this story. But since there is some heated passion (i.e. deep kissing and groping) I have decided to remove my "Good for the whole family" bit just encase anyone actually does read this story with their whole family!   
  


**It's Love; Now Or Never**   


  


By*Jasmine*  


  


**Part Three: The Shadows In The Wood **  


  
Link roused the small group in early dusk, just when the sun was still hidden by the enormous peaks of Death Mountain, and moved them on their way. They quickly cleared the rocky outcroppings and jagged crags early in the morning and soon came to a little stretch of grassland separating the Mountain from a thick fringing of forest. The earth under their horses's hoofs still retained the frozen night's chill and only now was beginning to thaw from the warm golden rays of the sun, that glittered against the drops of dew on each grass blade hung like a strand of glass beads. The quiet of the pre-afternoon hours was calming and peaceful and there was hardly any talking amongst the group, except for the soft snorting of their steeds now and again.   
  
As the sun finally began to take its place in the vivid sapphire sky and the afternoon was ebbing over them, the heat returning to the field, the throng of men and the Princess came to the edge of a dark wood. As they entered and steered their way through the collection of tall trees, the shadows danced over the damp earth and dappled the entire forest in a shroud of darkness. The smell of moist moss and decaying vegetation stifled the air and made the wood seem strangely cramped and suffocating, as if it were slowly choking them.   
  
Zelda, covered in her white hood, looked out at the gathering of trees with fascination and flecks of sunlight that broke through the emerald canopy above reflected in her pail eyes and made patterns against the milky white of her horse. "What is this place?" she asked quietly, careful not to raise her voice least she disturb the silence that hung heavy over the forest.   
  
Link was up ahead on his auburn mare, leading the group and keeping a watchful eye on the path winding before them. He answered her without shifting his gaze, "Lost Man's Wood in Fawaee. We should reach the Castle by night fall."  
  
The slender, wise young woman nodded and mumbled, "Goddesses, the names they give these places."  
  
The horses where moving at a steady pace, the soldiers bringing up the rear of their small wandering group and Zelda positioned in the middle, when suddenly Epona halted her trotting. Her brown hoofs stamped the forest floor, kicking up a spray of leaves, and when Link lashed her lightly in the ribs with his heels, she neighed wildly and shook her head from side to side in a feverish way.   
  
The Princess, riding behind Link on her own steed, asked apprehensively and irately, "What's wrong with your horse?"  
  
The Hero ofTime patted Epona in a comforting manner and leaned over to meet her chestnut hued eyes, seeing a familiar panic in them. "She's sensing something and whatever it is, it's frightening her," he replied, knowing the mask of terror on Epona's face all too well from their previous adventures together.   
  
Suddenly a figure, appearing like a lithe shadow, leaped down from a tree branch, making a clean somersault in mid-air before landing without so much as a noise, directly blocking Link's path. The black, elusive being held a curved rapier in his grasp and it gleamed in the spotted light, the only thing that stood out from his ethereal form. Without warning, a sound like a high-pitched war cry tore from the small figure and he held his sword high up in the air.   
  
A dozen more of these shouting shadow creatures emerged from the surrounding undergrowth and held similar weapons, all shining with a yearning for blood. The horses all jolted with panic and bucked madly, trying to turn around in the tight confines of the narrow path and their screams of fear clouded the air.   
  
Epona turned on her side and Link fought to control her as he slashed downwards with his sword at the vague beings that darted around him. They moved like shadows as well, weaving and bobbing and disappearing from sight as soon as they appeared. It was almost impossible to get a direct hit on any of them but Link did graze one here and there with his sword.   
  
His soldiers, unfortunately, were faring much worse as they struggled to fight off the mysterious men and were being knocked off their steeds in the process. Some were bashed unconscious, others were crushed by their horses, and some... maybe even struck down dead.   
  
The Princess's stallion was tormented by the darting shadows that moved around it, flashing their rapiers, and it reared up on its hind legs. Zelda screamed, her own voice blending in with the high-pitched screech of her horse, as the large white beast toppled over partially on its left side and the girl hit the earth hard, her small fragile body slamming against the ground and knocking the wind from her lungs.   
  
Link heard Zelda's shriek above all the other battle grunts and whoops and franticly scanned the confusing melee for the young woman. After a moment he saw her lying upon the ground by her fallen steed, half-unconscious, and he started to move Epona towards the Princess, fighting off men as he went.   
  
Zelda's eyelids fluttered open as the trees and speckled sunlight spun around in a dizzying confusion before her icy eyes. As she began to regain focus, the young woman raised herself up by her arms, wet leaves caught in her silky flaxen hair and moisture seeping into her warm cloak. The Princess realized where she was and tried to stand but felt a great pressure and numbing pain against her legs. She gazed down to see her horse was now crushing her from mid-thigh down; somewhere in the midst of battle the stallion had been punctured by a sword tip in the neck area and now its hot crimson blood poured forth, soaking into the bottom half of her cloak. She pushed against the beast with her fists in a vain attempt to raise it off her and moaned in pain, the bones in her legs feeling as if any moment they might break.   
  
One of the shadowed men caught sight of the trapped Princess and approached her slowly and smugly, watching the way she futilely fought against the weight of her horse with a self-satisfied pleasure. He drew forth his rapier, letting the noise of it moving against its sheath ring out and startle Zelda. The young woman looked up and her eyes meet those of the dark figure, his sword drawn and pointed directly at her.  
  
The Princess sat erect, her chin jutting out and her posture exuberating bravery and authority, although her pail azure eyes glimmered with a hidden dread, and the small man approached quietly. Sunrays flickered off his outstretched sword and he brought it closer to the ensnared girl's extended, swan-like neck. The tip of his rapier gently caressed her skin perversely and Zelda gulped back her urge to scream, knowing this creature with the dark brown eyes and featureless face fed off her fear. As the blade glittered down her neck and reached where her cloak was tied together, the being caught sight of a sparkling necklace lying against the young woman's breastbone. It was a golden, rose-shaped pendant and it shimmered in the shadow man's eyes, his greed rising.  
  
Zelda's eyes went wide as the rapier flickered foreword quickly, cutting through the delicate golden strand of her necklace. She gasped softly, "No..." as she watched her rose locket rest upon the tip of the creature's sword and be pulled away from her. The shadow being took the necklace in his small hand and glanced at it snidely before turning back to Zelda. He then raised his sword up above his head, ready to hack into her and kill her instantly, and the Princess thought then that if this thing had a mouth it would be most certainly smiling at her demise.   
  
Suddenly the flat side of a long sword knocked against the back of the man's head and his brown eyes rolled up into his skull. The shadow creature crumpled to the floor as his rapier fell harmlessly to the soft earth.   
  
The young woman looked up in surprise to see Link towering over her on Epona, sunlight catching in his golden hair and making patterns over his handsome tan face. "Are you alright?" he inquired sincerely.   
  
Zelda nodded and then said, pointing to her bottom half, "Yes but my legs are stuck."  
  
Link quickly dismounted his mare, shadow figures and the soldiers still fighting around him,and bent his knees to grip the sides of the heavy stallion crushing the Princess. He grunted and the muscles in his upper arms flexed as he put all his strength into lifting the white beast. Finally the horse budged just enough for Zelda to squirm free and afterwards Link let the mare go, exhaling deeply.   
  
"Can you stand?" the young man asked her.   
  
The Princess answered, "Yes, I think so," and lifted herself off the ground forcefully, making her legs stay stable and straight. She then bent over the fallen body of the shadow man who had threatened her earlier and took back her rose pendant from his cold, relaxed grip.  
  
Link jumped up onto Epona's back and then reached a hand out to the young woman, who quickly received it and mounted the auburn mare, sliding behind Link and wrapping her slender arms around his waist. The man did not hesitate and kicked Epona forcefully; sending her galloping foreword, her hoofs hitting like pulsing lightening against the worn path.   
  
Zelda looked back as the shadow men finished off the last of her soldiers and then disappeared into the surrounding woods, shouting whoops of sickening triumph. Her long flaxen hair, with leaves still stuck in it, flew out behind her as Epona galloped swiftly over the earth and the trees passed by in a blur. Her heart sunk over the lose of all her men and she hugged her warm body reflexively closer to Link.   


  
~*~  


  
The golden sun was just setting, casting crimson and burnt orange rays over the treetops and speckling the forest floor with colorful patterns, when Epona became to tired to even trot anymore. Her breathing was ragged in her lungs and Link decided it was time to give his mare a rest so at the first clearing they came to in the woods he stopped her and dismounted, helping Zelda do the same.   
  
The Princess, still wearing her cloak covered in splatters of matted dry blood, walked over to a log lying in the grassy knoll and sat down on it, resting her chin in the palms of her hands. After a long extended pause of grave silence, Zelda finally asked, "What do you think those things were back there?"  
  
Link was already setting to untying the pack from behind his horse, trying to distract his mind from the recent events and the lives of men he had come to know. "I don't know. Whatever they were, they weren't Hylian, that's for sure," he responded.   
  
The blonde haired woman looked at the one remaining knapsack left and heaved a sigh, "So basically all we have left now is a bag full of my shoe collection?"  
  
The man shrugged and tried to make the best of the situation as he said, "Well look at it this way, even if you have to wear rags, at least you'll have on the most expensive shoes."  
  
"True," she responded and then caught sight of a large gash just below Link's hairline. "O my, you're hurt! What happened?" Zelda gasped.   
  
Link said indifferently, "Just a little cut. I think one of those things back there got me with a rapier blade."  
  
The Princess's creamy cloak was parted to the sides to reveal she wore her torn light pink dress and she placed her hands on her slender hips. "Well you have to let me clean it out for you. Even a little cut can get gangrene," she said in a tone that meant she was not to be argued with, so Link put down the pack and strided over to sit beside her on the dry log.   
  
Zelda took out a little satchel she always carried, admittedly because Impa insisted she did, filled with first aid things and herbs. The young Princess took out a disinfectant salve and put some into her fingers.   
  
"Will this hurt?" Link asked, gazing down at her with apprehensive dark blue eyes.   
  
A small smile played across Zelda's pink lips, as she said, "No, not at all. I can't believe a tough guy like you, who practically gets his head chopped off, would be so worried over a little soothing ointment."  
  
Link replied matter-of-factly, "I didn't get my head practically chopped off, it's only a small scratch... And I'm not worried."   
  
"Ya sure you aren't," the Princess giggled sarcastically but then, seeing how Link was really generally concerned, she added, "I promise this won't sting a bit. Now hold still." She placed the herbal salve on the wound gently with the tips of her fingers and it cooled the area, helping relieve the pain.  
  
The young man smiled and said in an alleviated tone, "You were right. That feels good."  
  
The blonde Princess nodded and responded conceitedly, "I know. When will you learn I am always right?" She put away the small glass jar of ointment and tied the leather satchel back under the folds of her cloak.   
  
Link was looking at the young woman's neckline and he asked suddenly, "So why is that necklace so important to you?"   
  
Zelda clutched at the rose-shaped pendant with her fist and said tightly, "Why do you care? I didn't know all my personal information suddenly became your business."  
  
The young man looked angered and dejected as he sighed exasperatedly, "Fine, you don't have to jump down my throat. I only was curious, so arrest me."  
  
The Princess looked away from his gaze and her hand loosened from around her necklace. "No, you're right, I'm sorry. It's just that whenever things about my mother come up I get all tense," she admitted.   
  
Link asked, "So then your mother gave that to you?"   
  
Zelda nodded her blonde head and responded sadly, tears in her throat, "Yes, just before she died... You wouldn't understand."   
  
The Hero of Time gazed down at the log and a sheen covered his dark eyes. "I know more about that then I wish I did. Both my parents are gone too."   
  
The woman looked to Link and for the first time felt the start of a bond between them. Their eyes meet in an exchange of sorrow before she finally questioned anxiously in an attempt to divert from the subject, "So what do we do now? Continue on even after what happened?"   
  
Link met the young woman's sober pail blue eyes and answered, "Yes, I think so. When we reach Fawaee we can send someone out to recover the bodies of our lost men...That's the best thing we can do to honor them now."   
  
Zelda replied, her beautiful, perfect complexion illuminated by the soft auburn rays that burned through the canopy, "You're right... I wish we could stay here forever though..."  
  
The man's brow knitted together as he asked in confusion, "Don't you want to reach Fawaee Castle and met the Prince?"  
  
The Princess cast her gaze downward and her voice was full of melancholy, "No, not really. This wasn't my idea at all."   
  
"What do you mean?" Link asked, still confused and the expression on his face shown it.  
  
Zelda sighedand met his stare again, her icy eyes shining with a quiet sorrow, "My father is forcing me to marry the Prince. To tell you the truth I don't even like this man."  
  
It finally sunk in and the Hero of Time said sympathetically, "That's horrible... I had no idea or else I wouldn't have agreed to escort you to the Castle..."  
  
The young woman forced out a small smile as she bit back a tear, "No that's OK. I'm royalty after all, I'm expected to marry." For a moment she just stared at him, letting her unshed tears glisten in her eyes like shards of glass, before she hastily stammered to break the somber mood, "Well I should go clean off this dress and cloak if it's the only outfit I will be wearing for quite some time."  
  
Link nodded and responded, "Alright, I think I saw a spring back about half a mile, you can go there. I'll try to set up camp while you're away."   
  
The Princess stood and dusted off pieces of moss that had stuck to her bloodstained cloak before sauntering off into the woods.   
  


~*~  


  
Zelda walked a distance from their encampment until she came to a small spring encircled by damp dark rocks. Heat rose from the smooth dark surface of the water pool in wisps of steam, shrouding the area in a veil of balmy mist. She came to the conclusion that this water looked much too warm to just wash clothes in and decided upon a dip first.   
  
The Princess removed her shoes and let the soles of her naked feet slap against the cool, moist rocks; then she untied the twist of her cloak and let it fall to the ground. Last, the petite blonde slipped off her short pink dress and let it crumple into a pile by her ankles. All Zelda stood in now was her thin white shift that brushed against the tops of her creamy thighs and her long flaxen hair that tumbled down her back, sweat already lightly beading on her brow from the heat.   
  
The young woman slowly edged her way down the step rocky inlaids and into the hot water until finally she was shoulder-high into the spring. Gentle bubbles rolled from the pool's soft floor and caressed Zelda's skin and lifted the hem of her under-dress garment slightly, making her moan softly. The warmth surrounded her like a blanket and she sucked in her breath and ducked below the surface.   
  
Link emerged from the covering of trees and searched the hot spring for any signs of Zelda. Since the Princess was no were to be found, he thought she might have already finished washing her clothes and left. The young man was still grimy from sweat and blood and he decided a nice rinse in the water would sooth out his muscles so he began to remove his tunic, slipping it over his head.   
  
Zelda bobbed back up to the surface, a small gasp for air escaping her lungs, and her long blonde hair clung to her head in wet strands. When she opened her icy pail blue eyes to see the Hero of Time half dressed as usual, she squeaked out in alarm, "Link! What are you doing here?"  
  
The young man, now only clad in his hose, looked to Zelda with wide eyes and a flush spread over his chiseled face. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were still here," he managed to stammer out.   
  
The Princess bite her lip and then her gaze moved down his body. This might not be so bad after all... The petite blonde said softly and bashfully, "Well now that you're here, you might as well join me. Its nothing I haven't seen already anyway..."   
  
Link almost felt his jaw drop open and he had to stifle a gulp of anxiety. Was the Princess of Hyrule really inviting him to bathe with her? He did not say a word but merely nodded his head and slowly edged his way into the hot spring, the water lapping up over his hose-covered legs.   
  
The young woman found pleasure in Link's discomfort and almost laughed at the way he cautiously entered the spring, his body tense and his deep blue eyes dilated like saucers. Zelda liked the position of power she now wielded and moved her body closer to his, purring almost teasingly and batting her eyelashes, "Link, your muscles look stiff! Let me rub them for you."   
  
Link tensed and did not reply at all as he felt two warm tiny hands fall on his slick shoulders and gently stroke at his stressed muscles. It felt so good that he slowly relaxed and fell into her touch, as the hot steam rose all around them. After a minute however, he suddenly awoke from his ecstasy and jerked from her grip. "Wait! Zelda, this is wrong. I'm supposed to be delivering you to your future husband, we can't do this," he said, though his eyes shown a weakness for her that his words did not.   
  
The beautiful woman rolled her eyes at him and sighed in exasperation, "O please, Link! If you'd deflate that massive ego of yours for one second you might see that I am only trying to be kind and give you a massage... Besides, if I was going to have a secret affair, I certainly wouldn't pick you to have it with!"   
  
The Hero of Time looked embarrassed at his mistake but like a true man, he tried to cover it up by blaming Zelda. "Well excuse me, but in all fairness, it's hard to tell when you're attempting to be nice because you don't do it all that often!"  
  
"Maybe if you weren't such an arrogant ignoramus half the time, I would be pleasant more often," Zelda spat back.   
  
Link shouted in response,churning up hot water with his frustrated movements, "I'm the ignoramus? Who packed five suitcases full of just their wardrobe, huh?"   
  
The young Princess growled just as loud, "Leave my clothes out of this, you twit! Why don't you just go back to Hyrule, I'm sure I can manage fine without your expert advice."  
  
"Maybe I will! I certainly have better things to do then totting around a spoiled royal," Link retorted furiously.   
  
As they had argued, their warm bodies gradually moved closer and closer together until now they were only inches away from each other. Zelda's long hair clung together in glistening spiraling strands, fringing her beautifully pail face, and her wintry eyes glimmered with a hot anger and a hidden passion. Tiny droplets of water caught onto her eyelashes and her pink, supple lips glistened with moisture as they pursed together. "Moron," she whispered harshly, her words spiraling out on a surge of hot air to caress his face.   
  
Link looked back at her and his flaxen hair was plastered to his forehead with beads of perspiration and mist. His intense blue eyes focused on her and yet held no bitterness; instead there was a flicker of yearning, which her words only further excited. He said softly back, just as cruel sounding, "Brat."  
  
Then the only sound that could be heard was the deep breathes in their swelling chests and the pulsing beat of their hearts. Now they were so close that their pointed noses practically touched, their eyes were locked together, and a powerful desire was exchanged between them. The hot steam that bellowed out in turrets from the spring seemed to be emitting from the two people as they gazed at one another.  
  
Suddenly Link pressed foreword and brought his lips to hers, thrusting gently but deeply into her awaiting mouth. Hands and arms grasped out into the water and pulled at their bodies in yearning, clutching to slick flesh in a wanting embrace. The Princess let herself fall into the kiss and ran her hands through his damp hair, savoring the heat of his touch. As the mist closed in on the entwined pair, a soft moan escaped from the young woman's lips and she whispered in pleasure, "...Jerk..." Then Link's hands brushed against the rising hem of her soaked white slip and pulled her further into his grasp.   
  


~*~  


Closing Notes:   
  
So this is Chapter 3. Sorry for the cheesy title but I couldn't think of anything else. ^_^;; I actually had more written for this part but it wouldn't all fit so I'm moving a section of it into the next chapter (Blame aol text!). Alright well I gotta go have fun because its a three day weekend. Hip hip horay!  
  
  



	4. Part Four: The Prince

  
Author's Note:   
  
Hello to all. This is a romantic Link/Zelda fic that I've decided to write.It's a romance/drama/smidgen of comedy. It takes place in the Ocarina of Time setting, after Zelda sent Link back and they grew up to be 18. There personalities are a little unlikable in the beginning but that's only because I wanted to make believable strife between them. There wouldn't be much conflict if they were both wonderfully pleasant and perfect people, now would there? No adult themes or swearing in this story. But since there is some heated passion (i.e. deep kissing and groping) I have decided to remove my "Good for the whole family" bit just encase anyone actually does take me literally and reads this story with their whole family!   


  
**It's Love; Now Or Never**   


  


By*Jasmine*  


  


**Part Four: The Prince**  


**  
**Farore gazed into the rock pool and her brow was creased in confusion. The soft shimmering green hue of her perfect skin radiated in the setting sun, as it cascaded over their Realm in auburn and burnt orange bands of light, and her short emerald hair was tucked behind herears. She knelt by her sister and inquired in perplexity, "Why were they just fighting and now are kissing? It makes no sense at all."  
  
The Goddess of Power was lying on her back on the rise of a close hill, watching the flaming globe fall belowthe hills with her hands behind her head. She was still within earshot however and called to them with a superior tone in her voice, "Because humans make no sense, sister. There is no order to their chaotic and petty lives." The glow of the sky reflected in her scarlet eyes like a twin set of setting suns and her long silky red ponytail laid spread out among the fluttering grass blades.  
  
The beautiful Goddess of Wisdom looked just as shocked as her younger sister and her jaw was agape as she looked down upon the embracing pair of mortals. Her long wavy cerulean strands of hair were now thrown over one shoulder and the pallor of her skin was illuminated with an inner light. "I'm not sure, Far," Nayru replied, ignoring Din's comment. "But getting those two together was not quite as hard as I had imagined it to be."   
  
The Goddess of Courage nodded her small head and beamed up at her wiser sister with an expression of adoring admiration, "Yes, good thinking. I would never have had the notion to make a hot spring appear near their encampment. You're so intelligent, Nay."  
  
Nayru's face only furthered in its contortion of confusion as her slender blue eyebrows arched upwards into twin peaks. "That wasn't any of my doing, sister. I thought you were responsible for that..." the Goddess of Wisdom said with curiosity, to which Farore reflected her look of bewilderment and merely shook her head.   
  
There was silence between them until finally Din sprung up into a sitting position, her hair flicking up like the end of a candle flame, and she exclaimed in humiliate, "Ok, Ok, I admit it was me!"   
  
Two twin faces turned to her like surfaces of harvest moons, surprised and amused eyes shining at her, and Farore questioned, "You placed the hot spring there in the wood, Din?"   
  
The Goddess of Power's usually scornful face was now flush with embarrassment and she cast her eyes away. She nodded solemnly and bit her scarlet lip; caught in an unusual and indignant moment.  
  
"But I thought you did not concern yourself with those mortals, sister," Nayru spoke and she could not halt her lips from rising at the corners into an amused smile, illuminating her pail face.   
  
Din looked at her sister and her original expression of harshness and superiority had already returned, chasing away the crimson blush from her cheeks. She said curtly, "It's still true. I just couldn't stand by and watch you two muddle up those Hylians lives any further... I wouldn't want you getting the impression I actually care about those weak beings or anything though."  
  
Nayru let her smile dance across her face as she replied cheerfully, "Yes of course. But all the same, thank you, Din."  
  
The Goddess of Power pressed her lips together in a pout and then swiftly fell reverse onto her back, with her arms crossed over her chest.   
  
The sapphire haired Goddess of Wisdom turned her gaze downwards once again to the reflective surface of the rock pool and her voice was full of vagueness when she finally said cryptically, "... For some unknown reason though, I don't think this is the last of the Princess's nor the Hero's troubles. We will just have to wait and see..."  
  


~*~  
  


Zelda felt the heat of the sun dappling her face and became aware of two strong arms wrapped gently around her slender waist. She felt the soft breathing of another close by break against her smooth cheek and heard the slight wrestling of tree leaves swaying above in a placid breeze. Gradually and cautiously, as if she was hesitant to wake and find all this a mere dream, the young woman's eyelids flickered open to gaze at a pair of dark sapphire eyes with flecks of ice caught in them starring directly back at her. Calloused, perfect, tan skin and rugged cut lips completed the face that was watching her so intently.  
  
The gust caressed her just below her slip hemline, on her bare thigh, and she was vaguely aware that Link's hand rested there. "How long have you been watching me?" she asked softly and her full, pink mouth was so close to his that she was unsure if at any moment they might end up kissing again.   
  
"I don't know. Maybe a minute… maybe forever?" he replied in a whisper and a soft lopsided grin fell over his face, but it wasn't comical, and a haze was over his eyes, the kind that only resides in the minds of young men in love.  
  
Zelda spoke again after a long, pregnant moment, "Am I a dreadful snore?" She was trying to awaken in him all the things he had only a morning ago hated about her, all the faults in her that he had scorned. Yet it was if she was a perfect angel in his eyes today.   
  
He chuckled, "Yes. But I'd say it was a cute snore," and his hand reached out to push a strand of her flaxen hair behind her pointed ear, brushing against the creamy rise of her cheek with his rough thumb.   
  
The Princess bit back the tear that threatened to fall at his touch and the guilt that rose up in her throat. She had to stop him now; no matter how much it hurt, it was better now then later. Why couldn't he just hate her like before and she have gone on secretly pining for him? It would have made everything so much more simple. "Link, listen, I have to tell you something…" she began and caught his hand in her own small silky one, her crystal eyes looking up into his.   
  
Yet Link ignored her, or rather he wanted to deny what he knew was inevitable, and he said, "Do you know you smile in your sleep?"   
  
Zelda cast her eyes upwards at the sun breaking through the canopy of leaves and sighed, "O it must have been that silly dream I had."   
  
"Silly dream? Well now you must tell me!" the young man chortled and yet gained no laugh from thePrincess.   
  
The young woman rolled her frosty eyes fringed in a dusting of long golden eyelashes and said, "Alright. If you must know… I dreamt you proclaimed your love for me and we got married right here in the forest. All the woodland animals were there to hear our vows and a bullfrog was our cleric. Then you made a house out of sticks and moss and we lived out here and had five children together. See what a fool I can be."  
  
Link met her gaze and he said softly, "That wasn't so silly… Well except for a frog as a priest..."   
  
Zelda's lip trembled as if she was resisting her words and yet she said bluntly, her voice drenched in unshed tears, "Link, this was a mistake."   
  
The Hero of Time's brow creased in surprise and he asked, "What is a mistake?"   
  
"This… This whole thing," she responded. "I should never have let it happen, it's wrong."   
  
Link kept his hands wrapped around her waist as if to hold her and make her stay with him forever. "What shouldn't have happened; our kiss? How can two people, who love eachother, sharing in a kiss be wrong?"   
  
Zelda pulled her gaze away from him, unable to bare the pain in his eyes any longer, and said resolutely, "But we don't love each other. It was just the intensity of the moment and the heat of our argument. I may have just been trying to deny my fate…"  
  
"So I was just a toy then to be used to take your mind off your troubles?" he asked and his voice was harsh and condemning. He pulled his arms away from her and almost immediately again yearned to feel her skin under his fingers. His heart felt heavy in his chest, as if it had been crushed by her words, and his response was to lash out in defense. He sat up and the Princess followed him.   
  
The young woman did not know how to respond and her frosty pail azure eyes glimmered like shards of rain-slick glass. Her unruly flaxen strands of hair had blades of grass weaved within them and it trailed down her back. "Even if we did share love, it would never have worked. I am royalty and we are not allowed to marry someone not of noble birth. My father would disown me and so would my nation. The Fawaee Prince too would probably send out scouts to find us and we'd have to run for all of our lives. You know all this, Link," Zelda said and her voice quivered.   
  
His eyes looked at her and they were narrow with pain and betrayal. "How could I forget? You are a Princess and I could never be more then a common peasant to you," he whispered bitterly. Then he stood up, his still bare chest glimmering in the sun and his golden hair reflecting back the gilded rays of light.   
  
Zelda hugged her knees to her chest with her slender arms, feeling strangely cold without his presence beside her, and said softly, "I'm sorry…" That was all she could say, there was really no words that could explain her actions. Her heart felt weighted with sorrow and a solo tear plummeted down her cheek, making a lonely glistening trail along the map of her skin.  
  
He looked at her and wanted to hold her, kiss her. But he couldn't, their night together was gone and now all that was left was bleak reality. "I'm sorry too. For ever thinking you could love me," he replied and he tried desperately to hide the trembling in his voice as he turned and walked out of the clearing, holding his broken heart in his palms.   
  
The beautifully sorrowful young woman sat alone and placed her head on her knees as the tear fell. Why, if this was what she wanted, did it suddenly feel so wrong?  


  
~*~  


  
They traveled in silence across the endless tundra of long, swaying grass. Epona snorted as the green blades licked at her trotting limbs and Zelda sat motionless behind Link, her face stone and her thoughts seeming to be miles away. They'd cleared Lost Man's Wood around late morning and were now trooping across the Fawaee grassland, which seemed to be an endless emerald sea. The Hero of Time kept them at a quick pace; the sooner they reached the Castle and he was able to go on his way, the better for the both of them. His spirit was still mournful over the rejection he had suffered earlier.   
  
It was far into the afternoon when finally Fawaee Castle could be seen just emerging beyond a rolling hill, its white washed sandstone gleaming in the hot evening sunlight. It was quite large, even more massive in size then Hyrule Castle, and its many spires jutted into the horizon. Yet even as beautiful as the palace appeared, there was a lurching in Zelda's stomach at the sight of her future home. The horse gained an extra spurt of speed in her step and soon they were nearing the castle. The colorful stained glass windows dotted the walls like fireflies in a night sky and a velvet royal blue banner flew from the top-most turret.  
  
A man surrounded by a legion of guards, all dressed in shiny etched armor, stood out on the drawbridge. His brown hair was neatly combed to his head and his body was thin and pail, almost as slender as Zelda herself. His face was long and drawn-out but clean-shaven and handsome as well and his eyes were a rich amber hue. He had a broad smile on his lips and he wore the most expensive of fabrics over his lanky frame. "Hello and welcome to my kingdom of Fawaee. It's been ages since I saw you last, Princess Zelda," the Prince said and his voice was loud and held a tinge of arrogance.   
  
He approached her, ignoring Link entirely, and took her small smooth hand in his. Bringing it to his lips, he kissed her warm skin and said, his eyes regarding her like a prized trophy, "It seems as if you gained more beauty for each year we were apart. You were certainly worth every rupee spent on your dowry, milady." Then he helped her dismount the horse gently as if she would break.   
  
A faint flush spread across the young woman's cheeks as she replied, "Thank you." Then recovering her thoughts, she said, "How rude of me, I've forgotten my manners. Prince Gaelith, this is Link, our Hero of Time."   
  
The Prince of Fawaee looked down his long pointed nose at Link and sneered smugly, "O, so your Hyrule has a hero? How utterly quaint. Do you live your life fighting off the big bad monsters and such?"   
  
The young blond man snorted defiantly, "Partly," and couldn't hide the distaste that glared in his blue orbs.  
  
Zelda chimed in, coming to Link's defense, "He has saved Hyrule many a time. Actually, I would not have made it to Fawaee without him."   
  
Gaelith's raven eyebrows creased into twin peaks as he inquired, "O how so?"   
  
"We were traveling through Lost Man's Wood yesterday when a band of these shadow things attacked us and killed off all my guards. The only reason I'm standing before you is because Link rescued me from death," she said matter-of-factly and liked the way the smirk on the Prince's face melted away.   
  
The black haired royal sighed, "You had a run in with one of Fawaee's greatest nuisances I'm afraid.Those creatures are called the Lost Men and they inhabit the wood, protecting it from harm. I have done some research and I have come to the conclusion that they are closely related to your Sheikahs, perhaps a similar race. Anyway, when I was having a section of the wood deforested they turned to looting and raiding travelers in protest. The fact that I've sent in some soldiers to remedy the situation has only made things worse and frankly, I am at the end of my rope with them. I may be forced to just eradicate them entirely."  
  
"Why were you cutting down the trees?" Zelda asked curiously.   
  
Gaelith replied in self-absorbed sorrow, "I was planning on building a summer home there… But now those silly Lost Men have ruined my plans."   
  
The Princess blanched at the idea. She had always been taught that all natural resources were precious and a vital lifeline for a kingdom. No reason, especially one so foolish, could justify vandalizing a beautiful forest. Zelda forced herself to hold her tongue and merely nodded her head.   
  
The Fawaee Prince turned to the Hero then with a wide smile and trumpeted, "A reward is in order I think, for saving my treasured Zelda! What is it you would like, Link? Anything can be yours; beautiful women or riches, just say the word."  
  
Link shook his head and said, "No, I was merely doing my job."   
  
"You heroes are all alike, too courageous for your own good," Gaelith sighed and then said, "Well at least stay a few more days for our celebration in honor of Princess Zelda's arrival. That is the least I can offer."   
  
The young man had wanted to leave as soon as possible and break away from his denied love, that would make everything more easy on his already shattered heart. He didn't say anything in response as he looked down at Epona and contemplated his answer.   
  
Gaelith chortled snidely, "O come now, you can certainly wait a few days to travel home and slay a mutant slug. Guards, take his horse for him."   
  
And so it was decided for him. Link dismounted and Epona was lead away by a soldier to the royal stables.Then Zelda and Link followed Gaelith down a brick path and into the Castle, listening the whole way as the Prince went on and on about his many riches.   


  
~*~  


  
Closing Notes:   
  
Already at Part Four! Wow, I just can't stop writing! This chapter is short, however there is much, much more to come. So far things like bleak for the Princess and her Hero, will they discover their love before its too late and Zelda is wed to the Prince? You'll just have to wait until next time to find out! Muw ha ha! I love being evil! ^_^  
  
  



	5. Part Five: Looking Back

Author's Note:  
  
Hello to all. This is a romantic Link/Zelda fic that I've decided to write. It's a romance/drama/smidgen of comedy. It takes place in the Ocarina of Time setting, after Zelda sent Link back and they grew up to be 18. There personalities are a little unlikable in the beginning but that's only because I wanted to make believable strife between them. There wouldn't be much conflict if they were both wonderfully pleasant and perfect people, now would there? No adult themes or swearing in this story.  
  
Please read ~ review ~ and enjoy!  
  
1 It's Love; Now Or Never  
  
By *Jasmine*  
  
2 Part Five: Looking Back  
  
The earth was still cold from the night's chill, only small flecks of sunlight peaked over the top of the Castle's battlements. It was quiet and unusually peaceful in these dawn hours since none of the Castle staff was yet stirring. The only sound was the grunts of a young blonde man standing alone in the courtyard and the smooth swishing noise of his blade making metallic arcs through the grey shrouding mist.  
  
Link's steps were clean and strong, his posture straight and powerful. His brow was laced with a thin film of sweat and his flaxen hair fell before his cool blue eyes. Yet he looked lost in thought as he performed his familiar routine, his movements radiating an inner frustration and anger.  
  
"Don't you heroes ever take a day off?" a loud, clear voice rang over the barren grounds and the twinge of arrogance in it could only belong to the Prince of Fawaee.  
  
The Hero of Time turned his head, abruptly jolted from his churning mind, to see a tall brunette haired man striding towards him. His expensive shoes grew slick with the glass dew and his smile was broad and stained with haughtiness. "I could ask the same of Princes," Link spoke.  
  
Gaelith seemed to find amusement in Link's retort and laughed, "Ah so you possess a bit of wit to go along with that sword I see. I was up planning for tonight's party and didn't get a moments rest I'm afraid. There is much too do." Then he regarded Link's sword with a flicker of his amber eyes and boasted, "I too am renowned for my swordsmanship in Fawaee. My father had me take lessons since before I was capable of walking. They say I may be the best fighter in our kingdom."  
  
Now it was Link's turn to chuckle as he said, "Yes well if they had said any different you might have exiled them."  
  
Gaelith looked a little aback at Link's forwardness but he quickly recovered his gloating mannerism. "Then I must prove my skills to you." The lanky pail-skinned Prince turned on his sharp heels and strided over to a doorway. He disappeared within it and after a few moments emerged holding a long, slender sword by his side. The weapon was similar to Gaelith; graceful in design and sharp-edged.  
  
Then the Prince stepped before Link and got into a formidable stance. A smile flitted over his lips as he sniggered, "And don't spare any force on me because I am royalty."  
  
Link raised a thick golden eyebrow and replied coolly, "I have never done so before, why start now?" Then with the passing of his words, the two commenced in battle. Their swords flew foreword, metal clashing hotly against metal, and the grey somber veil of haze danced around them.  
  
Gaelith's fought well; his movements were aggressive, swift, and perfect in technique. His thin sword made etchings in the sky and struck Link's weapon in a barrage of blows. The Prince's limbs shuffled about quickly as well and he was able to move his lanky form with skill. After a long moment of solid exchanges and no real progress, Gaelith spoke in short, ragged breathes, "You move quite well for a common Hylian."  
  
Link had his own style of fighting; his movements were much more powerful and less quick in pace. Whereas Gaelith rained down three strikes, the blonde young man only needed one to do the same damage. His sword was not as brilliant looking and its hilt was slightly dulled with age but the metal of the blade was kept well maintained and it glimmered in the banded morning sunrays. Link did not concentrate so much on perfecting his techniques, instead he focused his mind until he was able to predict each movement Gaelith would make and have his body cooperate with his sword as if it were an extension of his own arm. "And you move very well for a rich Fawaeen," Link responded, not letting his brain waver from the battle.  
  
The tall young man gave a dry chuckle in reply and let his sword skip over the air, continuing the fight. They moved back and forth without much advancements and then, as Gaelith's blow was yet again deflected by Link's sword, the Prince was the first to break the silence between them. "Who has taught you to fight this way? I must seek them out for my instructors are of weak competence indeed."  
  
Without shifting his gaze, Link responded flatly, "I was my own teacher."  
  
Gaelith looked surprised and his dark eyebrows mounted into arches as he spoke, his voice unusually full of awe and a tinge of admiration, "Self- taught? Is there anything you cannot do, Hero?"  
  
The blonde man ignored the Prince's remark and asked as nonchalantly as possible, "So you are going to have the party tonight. A bit early don't you think?"  
  
A bead of perspiration pooled on Gaelith's brow and he said, winded, "Yes well I want to have it as soon as possible. I am going to announce Zelda and I's engagement and I cannot delay any longer. After all, who could hesitate knowing they are wedding the most beautiful maiden in this and yonder kingdom."  
  
His voice was so boastful and his words stung Link. He could not hide the shock and appall that flashed across his firm tan face. Gaelith saw this and smirked in pleasure. He had something the noble and beloved Hero of Time apparently wanted and it delighted him greatly to view his pain. "Why? Do you have an objection to it?" the Prince of Fawaee asked, feigning ignorant innocents.  
  
Link regained himself and shook his head. "No. It's merely that we only just arrived here. Do you not think it best Zelda get acquainted to her new home first?"  
  
Gaelith snorted, "Are you sure you are not her nanny instead of her friend?" Then after a quick pause, the auburn haired man smirked and slowly drawled, "Or better yet, her lover - "  
  
The Hero found himself unable to respond and shock flooded his face. Gaelith took his opportunity to achieve an advancement and struck out then. His slender, ruby and pearl inlaid hilt glittered in the air and his blade danced just past Link's shoulder. The blond young man however recovered quickly enough to defend himself and attacked so strong that Gaelith's arm vibrated from the blow.  
  
"What are you implying?" Link growled, his voice low and his intent blue eyes narrowed. The battle between them was abandoned for the time being as the two young men stood face to face with their swords held slack down by their sides and their chests swelled with gasping breathes.  
  
Gaelith sniffed through that long sharply pointed nose of his, "You may be uneducated but you know full well what I am saying, Link. You and Zelda are having an affair."  
  
The young blond man scowled at the Prince and let his loathing for him shine through in his eyes and expression. "Zelda and I are just friends - Not even that," Link responded.  
  
"Just friends? Do you expect me to believe that when the way you look at her and she to you tells me enough? There is a love between you," the dark haired Prince stated and his heart bore jealousy. Zelda never showed such affections towards him and he secretly doubted she ever would.  
  
Link met the Prince's gaze straight foreword and said without pretense, "There is nothing between us. On my Hero's honor, I swear this." It was true; he would not allow himself to feel anything for her ever again.  
  
Gaelith rolled his honey eyes and scoffed, "Hero's honor? I trust that as much as I trust a bandit's word."  
  
The blond man lifted his sword up in one swift movement and pointed it directly at the Prince's chest. He knew his actions could get him executed but he could not bar his anger any longer. "Watch your tongue, Gaelith. You may be a Prince but that does not give you the right to speak low of me," Link demanded and his voice was as dangerously edged as his blade.  
  
The tip of the sword reflected in the Prince's twin orbs of amber and his lip raised into a perverse smile. "No, I suppose I believe you," he finally said and then a shallow chuckle escaped his parched throat. "After all, savage, rowdy Heroes and refined, soft spoken Princesses obviously don't go together. Everyone knows that."  
  
Link lowered his sword a bit and stared with white daggers at the man. Then he turned and started to briskly walk away.  
  
"You leave so soon? And just before I was able to taste your defeat?" Gaelith called after him snidely, his voice light with the hero's retreating form.  
  
Link spoke back over his shoulder, "There will be more time for me to beat you. Later." Then he disappeared into a doorway.  
  
Bands of soft morning sunrays made patterns over the yielding earth and high white Castle walls. Gaelith cast his eyes upward until he came to Zelda's guest room window. She was up at the sill, her white beautiful face turned to him like the surface of a luminescent harvest moon, a look of disapprove and sadness was on her soft features, and her pail cerulean eyes glistened like small depthless oceans. The Princess turned away and her flaxen hair swayed with her movements as she wilted away from his gaze.  
  
He knew then that never would he find love in her eyes.  
  
~*~  
  
The large ballroom was alive with people and the festive sounds of laughter. Long rich silk drapes poured onto the glossy wood floor and lengthy tables held etched platters of roasted meats and sugary desserts. The scent of food, honeyed spices and flowers drenched the warm air. The music of a soft flute filled the hall and the middle of the room was cleared to allow for dancing. Haughty women in flowing gowns all moved around their partners like colorful spinning tops, noses stuck high in the air.  
  
The Princess sat with her back pressed against the tall majestic satin padded chair and gazed around the room with a strange detachment from it all. It was as if she was here, yet wasn't meant to be. Her long silk dress shimmered iridescent blue hues like the palest of oceans, stretched over the map of her slender white skin, and threatening to drown her, if she was destined to be that lucky. Her somber mood sung through in her stony eyes and the cold, far away expression on her beautiful face, falsely illuminated in the soft gold candlelight.  
  
Gaelith sat to her right, looking proudly and gloatingly over the party. His thick mane of rich dark hair was combed back and a slight smirk was plastered on his narrow, pallor face. He wore a red tunic and white pants, a large golden amulet possessing the symbol of Fawaee's crown hung around his thin neck and sparkled in the light. He looked smug that he was sitting beside the most gorgeous young woman attending the party and eyed the dance floor, snatching up the opportunity to make further appearances with his lovely little doll on his arm. Leaning across the space that spanned between them, he spoke softly into her ear, "Would you care to dance, Princess?"  
  
She felt his hot breath on her cheek, singeing her skin, and she resisted the urge to retract from his touch as his hand pressed down on her slender wrist. Why did she feel this way about him? Sure, he wasn't exactly Prince Charming but it wasn't as if he treated her poorly or callous. All he had ever done was show her the utmost politeness and generosity. Why then did she feel as if he was somehow the one locking away her future? Zelda scowled at herself and scolded silently, No that's silly. I chose this, now I have no one to hate but myself.  
  
"Zelda?" he questioned quietly, his eyes showing mild concern, and he jarred her from her thoughts.  
  
The Princess turned to him and whispered back, "No. I'm sorry but I don't feel up to dancing right now." Long strands of flaxen hair fell before her eyes and were twisted back into a web of delicate coils pinned to the back of her head. A necklace of thin gentle gold strung with pure white pearls circled her neck and glistened against her collarbone.  
  
Gaelith studied her face, searched her eyes, and saw a void of nothing but confusion and distrust. He nodded and turned away, dissatisfied.  
  
Zelda watched the room with vague interest until finally what she had been secretly waiting for came into view. Link entered the room through the twin doors and instantly all the female eyes in the room turned towards him. He wore a simple black tunic and white hose over his muscular frame, more polished then anything he would typically wear yet not over dressed. His blond hair looked as if it had tried to be tame and combed back, yet still strands fell loose into his tan face and his cool blue eyes scanned the room. He radiated confidence and masculinity and you could almost hear every woman in the room swoon.  
  
The Princess stood from her chair, as if her body was no longer under her control, and the folds of her dress swam over her slender form. The faces of the people around them blurred together and faded out until they were mere shadows dancing along the walls of the hall. Link met her eyes and the blue of his orbs were tarnished by anger and an underlying passion. Zelda began to drift around the table and onto the dance floor as Gaelith watched on in displeasure and shock.  
  
Zelda stopped several feet away from the young man, hesitant to approach him, and she said, her words blending into the flitting of the flutes "You clean up well." Her humor however was somewhat fabricated and hollow, a vain way to try and make this situation comfortable.  
  
A slight smile fell over his face and he nodded to her, "As do you." He was supposed to hate her after what happened between them and they way she had tread on his heart so flippantly, but he found he couldn't hate her. For some reason he just couldn't.  
  
People began to waltz all around the two slowly as the music drifted into methodical soft lulls. "I didn't think you'd come tonight. After all, black tie events aren't really your strong point," she said lightly and her pale face glowed golden in the candlelight.  
  
"What? And miss your lavish arrival gala? I think not," he said exaggeratedly, imitating the Prince slightly and causing a soft giggle to burble out from the Princess's throat. "Do these people throw a festival for every small event or what?" he then asked.  
  
Zelda laughed, life coming into her features, "Just about. I hear they are planning a ball next week to honor a successful turnip crop."  
  
Link chuckled also and it felt good to laugh with her once more. Then as the laughter died down between them, the young man looked to the side as if he was noticing the swirling people around them for the first time. "It appears everyone is dancing," he said almost to himself and the blonde woman in front of him nodded vaguely. Link looked to her once again and his dark azure eyes were uncertain. After a moment, he threw caution to the wind, and asked with a slight bow of his head, "Would you care to dance, milady?"  
  
Zelda's face shown with an inner joy and, even though she knew she was risking upsetting Gaelith and causing a sensation, she accepted his outstretched hand, her heart beating faster with just the touch of his skin against hers. Without saying a word she walked towards him until they were just inches away from each other and the man slipped his arms around her slim waist, all the while his eyes never leaving hers. Her small arms went up over his neck until their warm bodies were touching close, the silk fabric of her thin pale blue dress grazing his cotton tunic.  
  
"Remember, I lead," Link whispered teasingly to the Princess with a small grin, his hot breath against her bare neck and ear. He then led her in slow swaying movements and she allowed him to as her body was overwhelmed with bliss in his embrace and her thoughts turned to simple pleasure.  
  
Moments drifted by and Zelda spoke first for fear she might be swallowed whole by the joy overcoming her. "You look very nice. Who dressed you in these clothes?"  
  
The young man looked indignantly as he proclaimed, "What? You don't think I could at least dress myself for a party? Tsk tsk, you don't have enough confidence in me."  
  
"Its not you I have a lack of confidence in, it's your fashion sense," the Princess giggled.  
  
Link admitted with a chuckle, "Ok, Ok you got me. I had one of the maids pick it out for me."  
  
Zelda smiled up at him showing two rows of pearly teeth and said, "They don't call me the Sage of Wisdom for nothing."  
  
"You look very beautiful tonight. But then again I'm sure at least a dozen men have already made this fact clear to you," the Hero of Time said and his voice was somewhat light though there was an undertone of jealousy in it. He was aware that Zelda was just as sought after by the opposite sex as he was by the women.  
  
A strand of flaxen hair fell in front of her pale blue eyes as the woman replied with a sigh, "O just two or three."  
  
Link laughed, "Did I ever tell you you're a horrible liar?"  
  
A sardonic grin came over her face and she said, "And did I ever tell you you're a terrible charmer?"  
  
"Funny, of all the women I've known you are the first to say that," he sniffed jokingly.  
  
Zelda chortled with laughter and said, "Because I'm a horrible liar remember?"  
  
For a moment it felt like old times again, before they had shared a kiss and stopped denying their feelings. Yet the touch of her hipbones against his brought back feelings of passion and yearning and his grip became more firm, more needing. The music was drifting on without either of them really hearing it and people floated around them like ghosts against the wall. Far off into the farthest wisps of their world sat Gaelith at his chair, glowering at them and fingering the arms of his gilded chair.  
  
The Princess looked up at him, her clear pale eyes haunting in their regret and bitter sorrow, and she said breathlessly, "So why did you stay?"  
  
Link was startled by her abrupt question and threw out a hasty answer, "Because he asked me to."  
  
By now their dancing had stopped and they were merely standing in place among of sea of moving people and fluttering silk garments. The glow of the golden candles illuminated the curves of Zelda's beautiful face and the rise of her high cheekbones. She responded wisely and without accusation, "No, the real reason."  
  
The young man looked at her for a moment, struggling to find an answer in her perfect features and wise eyes, and then cast his eyes downward. "I - I - " he began.  
  
Suddenly the ringing of a glass echoed across the hall and halted the flutes. All eyes darted to Gaelith standing in front of his chair and tapping a glass elegantly with a fork. As soon as he was sure everyone was looking towards him, the pale skinned man stopped and turned to them with a smile.  
  
"Hello to all my guests and fellow countrymen! I am so very happy to see my hall filled once again with the laughter and warmth only friends may bring. My house fells so much more alive with all of you here - " he began and the glitter of the golden candle flames caught in his mane of raven black and his thick eyebrows arched skyward into twin furry peaks. Gaelith suddenly flicked his brown gaze from the dancing guests to Zelda there in the middle standing before Link and then back again to his friends. The Princess became aware what was coming and instantly stepped away from the Hero of Time, feeling shamed from his touch.  
  
The Prince of Fawaee continued, "But I must say that this house will no longer be just mine any longer to fill with laughter and festivities - The beautiful Princess of Hyrule, Zelda, has accepted my wedding proposal and we are to be married this spring. This will become her house as well as mine and together we shall make it a home."  
  
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause and it was all directed at Zelda, who could not muster up a convincing smile and instead bowed her head to hide the sheen in her eyes. Link looked towards her from the shadow of the crowd and his face was drawn long and sadness read across his brow.  
  
Gaelith continued on gushing over his new bride-to-be and their wedding announcement and the Hero found he could not take it anymore. He turned and left, thinking the Princess might not even notice.  
  
Zelda watched the retreating form of his black tunic for a moment and found her yearning to give chase after him. She looked around to see the eyes of the noble men and women turned once again to Gaelith and then the young woman slipped out unnoticed.  
  
Link made his way down the hall and out the courtyard entrance. There was a slight breeze in the air laced with a bittersweet chill and a swollen moon hung low in the velvet black sky, casting a cold metallic light over the yard. His pace was swift and even as he silently cursed himself for still having feelings for Zelda, of all people.  
  
The Princess's shoes scraped against the brick path as she ran to keep up, her gown of blue silk fluttering behind her. She slowed a bit and called out to him, "Link, wait!"  
  
The young man stopped, his breath catching in his throat, and he dared not turn around yet for fear he might feel the racing of his heart at the mere sight of her. "Just let me be, Zelda," he said softly and his voice was hard like thick frosted-over ice.  
  
"I can't Link. We can't leave it like this. Why did that bother you back there? You know I am engaged to Gaelith," she pressed and stared at the back of his head as if to find an answer in his flaxen hair.  
  
Link froze for a moment before swerving around on his heels, his handsome face looking enraged yet sorrowful outlined in the platinum blue of the moonlight. His tone was sharp and curt, yet his voice broke at odd intervals with the quaking of tears vibrating down his throat, as he said, "Remember how before you asked me why I really stayed? Well you want to know why? Because of you! Because - of some forsaken dream I had that maybe you'd change your mind and - I don't know - Maybe you'd see that marrying Gaelith is a mistake."  
  
Zelda looked at him and her eyes grew glossy like slick glass, twin moons reflecting in her orbs like globes of silver caught there. She shook her head softly and whispered, "O Goddesses Link - I already told you all this before. I have to marry Gaelith; it isn't my choice to make nor mine to change - He may be somewhat snobby but he is my only option and he does not mistreat me - Maybe with time, I may even grow to love him."  
  
The young man gazed back at her and they were only a few feet apart yet it felt the span of a lifetime. "Are those the lies you tell yourself then to rationalize marring someone you do not love? You will never grow to feel for that man; you and I both know this, no matter how much you attempt to deny it," he spat, a bitter loathing crisp in his voice.  
  
A tear plummeted down the sloping rise of her creamy cheek and she hissed, her words each filled with biting anger, "Damnit Link! Why do you persist in making this so hard for me? Can you not pretend to accept our fates and move on as I am trying to do?"  
  
"O I've forgotten that I am making it so hard for *you*," he said, "But then its always been about you hasn't it?"  
  
Zelda rolled her blurry eyes and turned her back to him as she snapped softly and scornfully, "Shut up -"  
  
His hand snaked out to catch her wrist and his grip was firm yet not painful even in his rage. He could feel her pulse under his palm and the throbbing of her blood below her smooth skin.  
  
Zelda wrenched her head around and narrowed her eyes until they were mere shards of jagged ice. She growled, "Let go of me."  
  
Link gazed into her face and he looked urgent. "I will let go of you - forever - if you can answer me but one question: Can you honestly throw away all we have or may have and never look back or question what might have been?"  
  
Zelda met his gaze and tears rolled down her face. "I - I - " she began and then looked away, as if she were shameful. "I have to," she stated finally.  
  
"O damn the law and damn your father! Who made them our Gods to dictate to us our destinies, Zelda?" Link cried out and still refused to let go of her wrist.  
  
The young woman glared at him, her face slick with hot tears and glittering in the cold moonlight, and her voice was desperately angry and loud, "Damn you!" With that she snatched her arm away from him and continued, " - For mocking my misfortune! To me, those are my Gods though I loathe it with all my being! I am the heir to the throne and for that I must carry the weight of responsibility! Why will you not leave me be to face my reality instead of filling my head with ideas and dreams that may never be?"  
  
He let her retreat from his grasp without so much as a struggle and watched her for a moment before finally nodding his head slowly and sadly. "Fine, if that's what you want then I'll go by morning's first light," he said and turned to leave.  
  
Yet he paused for moment and moved his head sideways to gaze at her with crestfallen dark azure eyes. Link added softly, " - Just have happiness, Zel, because I can't think of anyone more deserving of it than you. If it is what you wish, I will leave - and I won't look back." With that he walked farther down the cool brick path and disappeared beyond a doorframe.  
  
The Princess stood there alone in her flowing gown that sparkled like a night ocean and strands of her golden hair fluttered in the slight breeze. She trembled from the chill - the cold of her heart - and tears streaked down the sides of her beautiful face. Zelda could feel a hurt deep inside as she watched him walk away and swallowed down the bitter regret in her throat.  
  
~*~  
  
Closing Note:  
  
Ok first let me apologize for the format, which is no doubt screwy. This chapter was too big for AOL text again and since it wouldn't make sense if I separated parts of it I just left it as it was and downloaded using Microsoft Word. Sorry! Also I had to use a lot of ' - ' to represent pauses.  
  
With that out of the way let em just say: Awww sad! This is getting so dramatic I can hardly stand it! Hehe! So what you think? The sixth and last chapter is coming finally so look for that soon - And that's about it. O ya, happy Turkey Day everyone! I'm thankful for my family, my friends, my readers (^_^), and my health! All right well C ya lata gata! 


	6. Part Six: The Goddesses’ Plan (1/2)

Author's Note:   
  
Hello to all. This is a romantic Link/Zelda fic that I've decided to write. It's a romance/drama/smidgen of comedy. It takes place in the Ocarina of Time setting, after Zelda sent Link back and they grew up to be 18. There personalities are a little unlikable in the beginning but that's only because I wanted to make believable strife between them. There wouldn't be much conflict if they were both wonderfully pleasant and perfect people, now would there? No adult themes or swearing in this story.   
  
Please read ~ review ~ and enjoy!  


  
**It's Love; Now Or Never  
**

  


By *Jasmine*  
  
**Part Six: The Goddesses' Plan   
(1/2)**_   
_

  
Columns of high solid oak shelves rose all along the four walls, lined to the brim with heavy leather bound books all grown tarnished with age and turning the air to a thick lustrous musk. Gaelith sat alone at a small polished wooden table and a china cup was in his hand. He gazed out at the window pane as small drops of rain rapped against it, making a soft pinging noise, and some catching on the glass to bead along its surface and blur his view.   
  
Gaelith stared entranced for a few moments until padded foot steps perked his attention to the doorway. Zelda entered then looking radiant in her morning's utter dishevelment; she wore a nightgown of soft white cotton over her small frame and her long blonde hair lay bouncing against her shoulders, small waves pressed into each strand from were it was clasped up last night. Her feet were bare against the wooden floor and only a small gold necklace in the shape of the Triforce lay against her breast bone, which she wore at all times.   
  
The Prince smiled up at her from his seat and greeted warmly, "Good morning, my Zelda." His brown hair was already combed back and he wore a simple tan tunic with white hose over his lanky form. Even though it was morning he already wore expensive dress shoes on his feet.   
  
"Morning, Gaelith," the young woman replied and moved towards the empty study chair, sitting upon its soft, worn cushion.   
  
Gaelith beamed at her smugly and gushing with pride. "The party went nicely last night, don't you think? Our engagement went over well with everyone. Did you have a fun time?" he asked.   
  
Zelda nodded falsely and said, "Yes" even though last night was one of the worst of her life. Not only did she feel like an outsider among the Prince's friends, because she no longer found the spring's fashion or this winter's fox hunts as interesting as she once did, but also she had managed to completely drive away Link from ever having feelings for her.   
  
The Prince went on as if he did not hear her reply, "O I thought maybe you felt otherwise because I could not find you after I made the announcement…"  
  
The young woman gave a hollow smile and rubbed at her smooth temples. "I had such a dreadful headache that I could barely stand," she offered up weakly as an excuse.  
  
Gaelith met her eyes with a concerned look, a knowing gaze, and he accused bitterly and softly, "You certainly were fine when you were dancing with that Hero of yours…"   
  
Zelda looked a little surprised at his words even though she could not deny there merit and stammered in response, "I… He asked me to… I thought it would be rude if I declined. After all he did save my life."   
  
The russet colored haired young man took it all in and his pale face showed his astute knowing beyond her lies. "O I see," was all that he said before turning back to the window and taking a short dainty sip of hot morning tea.   
  
A long pregnant minute passed between them, dividing them apart until they felt like mere strangers sitting next to one another, and finally Gaelith was the first to break the silence like a stone shattering a placid lake surface. With a wrinkle of his pale nose, one no doubt that had never felt the sting of a summer's sun burn nor the flicking of a hay grass as someone teasingly tickles you under the nostrils, and he moaned miserably, "O what a terrible, dreadful rain we are getting! Now my whole day seems ruined."   
  
The young Princess gazed out beyond the raindrop plastered glass and was lost in her own thoughts and inner confusions. She murmured softly, partly to herself, "… Some days are made for rain."   
  
Gaelith looked to her, a condescending raise of his thick eyebrow, and he remarked snidely, "What is that suppose to mean?"   
  
Zelda snapped out of her mind and replied quickly, "O nothing, I'm sorry."   
  
The Prince went back to staring out the window though he shook his head and grumbled to himself, "'Some days are made for rain'? What nonsense is that? Imagine, an entire day made just for a dreadful downpour. Utterly silly…"  
  
The young woman watched him and saw then all her mistakes, all that she had made wrong. Zelda suddenly and abruptly stated, "I can't do this, Gaelith."  
  
The Prince of Fawaee once again turned to her and his face was contorted in puzzlement and a bit of annoyance. "What…. What are you talking about?" he asked in confusion.   
  
"I can't marry you," she starkly said, her face marked with a sudden clarity.   
  
Gaelith scanned her eyes and released a short, swift burst of forced hoarse laughter that was meant to be arrogant and confident but sounded hollow and sad instead. "Of course you can! I've already told the news to my entire kingdom and the plans have been made, we are getting married," he said and tried to believe in his denial.   
  
Yet Zelda gave him a sympathetic look and replied, "No. I'm sorry Gaelith… But we can't; you know that as well as I do. Marrying because someone tells us we must is not right and I cannot possibly go through with it any longer."  
  
"But…. It's because of Link isn't it? I knew you two had something going on all along," he growled angrily.   
  
Zelda replied with silence and it only furthered his rage. He spat loudly, "You have to be kidding me! That...that Hero of yours is no more then a commoner dressed up in a fancy title! He could never give you all that I could..."   
  
The Princess met his gaze and said, in a voice straining to remain civil, "Sometimes all that just doesn't matter in love."  
  
Gaelith sneered in a biting sarcasm, "Love? Cling to those sweet notions when you find yourself living in your Hero's horse stable, shivering from the cold with only your dreams to keep you warm. Ha, just the idea of a Princess and a commoner makes me laugh!"   
  
Zelda had had enough of his snide banter. She stood and struck him across the side of his face with the flat of her hand in one fluid movement. A stinging slap crossed over his cheek and burned red. He clung to it with a hand and looked up at her with shock.   
  
She gave him a dry look in response and said without rage, "That was to shut you up and give me at least a minute to speak."   
  
Gaelith, still in disbelief of her actions, said, "Fine. Go ahead, you certainly have my attention now."   
  
The young woman remained calm as she said, "Even if I do have feelings for Link, he is not the reason I am doing this. I finally see that we both deserve to share in a marriage with someone we love and nothing can make us do otherwise…"   
  
Gaelith still looked aghast by the whole thing and he spluttered, "But… What of your father? … And our responsibilities? This union was meant to strengthen a political alliance between Fawaee and Hyrule…"  
  
"I can deal with my father," she said with a soft, somber smile and went on, "And as for our responsibilities, when was marriage supposed to be used like some treaty to further a country's gain? I will not enter a sham of a union for that or any other reason."   
  
The Prince looked at her and then out the window. His voice came out uncertain and sad, "… I knew deep down you could never love me. I'm not a hero, nor will I ever be… But I thought maybe with time we could at least tolerate one another… I would care for you Zelda and treat you well…"   
  
Zelda realized then that all along maybe Gaelith was not as haughty nor arrogant as he portrayed himself to be; just a victim of his title, as she was. "I know, Gaelith, but it isn't meant to be this way. I have no idea what our destinies are to be… But somehow, I know this isn't it. I'm sorry," she said and apologized again, not really for her actions but just for their shared circumstances.   
  
Finally he relinquished, not removing his gaze from the window, "I understand… I'm not happy of course… But – I understand…"   
  
The Princess nodded then and moved towards the door. As she reached the door frame, Gaelith spoke up once more.   
  
"You'd better hurry."  
  
Zelda turned her head slightly to look at him and questioned, "For what?"   
  
The Prince cleared his throat and met her gaze then with his brown eyes. "Link - even though you still are unsure of your feeling towards him, I thought I should tell you he is out getting his horse ready, I saw him this morning… A told him a forsaken fool would only leave in this rain but I suppose he's in a rush for some reason."   
  
The Princess took it all in and then said truthfully, "Thank you, Gaelith."   
  
The young man with the brunette hair smiled slightly and soberly in response and turned back to the window, swilling his tea in its porcelain cup. Alone again with only the lingering pain of the slap on his face, he thought to himself that though their sword fight had been a draw of sorts, in the end the Hero had truly won.   
  


~*~  
  


Zelda came to the main doorway that poured out into the front yard and gave way to a drawbridge and beyond that all of Fawaee. The rain was falling down in a veil of damp white droplets and bouncing off the grass. The Princess peered out to see Link far off by the stables, fitting Epona with a pack and preparing to leave. The rain fell onto his cloak and seeped through the fabric yet he looked as if he cared very little.   
  
The Princess's mind raced as her feet began to propel her foreword from out of the Castle covering and into a showering of chilled water. The rain hit her shoulders and soaked into her white nightgown, ruining the fine silk. The drops pounded down on her head relentlessly as her mind throbbed with all the possibilities and consequences that might befall her if her feet were to fail her and he were to ride out of her life.   
  
Finally she was close enough to see the frigidness of his back, the betrayal in his posture. Every movement he made radiated sadness and regret. She still called out to him breathlessly though as she neared, "Link, wait! Please wait!"   
  
The man hesitated, his body instantly stopping and cringing at her angelic voice. He turned around then slowly and his face was dark and somber. The usually lighthearted young man now looked not so naïve of the pains of love. Was this all because of Zelda? It hurt her so to see she might be the cause of the ache that flashed across his deep blue eyes along with the anger and regret.  
  
The water dripped off his nose and down the strands of his wet head. "What do you want Zelda? Come back to dance a little more on my already trampled heart?" Link asked bitterly and his words were not angry but defeated. He no longer felt enough to hold hostility towards her; he knew she would never allow herself to love him so why waste emotions on her?   
  
She bit her pink tinted lip, wondering if maybe she had ruined everything far too much for it ever to be mended. Rain ran down her creamy face and drenched her nightgown, sticking to her body like plaster. "I... I ended my engagement to Gaelith," she finally said and felt her words sound so inadequate in reply.   
  
His face fell into a lopsided grin that was wretched in its attempt at joy and his voice was sarcastic yet broken. "Well bravo, Princess. Would you like an applause or just a simple pat on the back will do?"  
  
Her heart sank with the haunting pain in his eyes and she gazed away, unable to bare his grievous looks anymore. "I deserve that," she sighed and the rain dripped from the ends of her long golden hair. Then after a long swollen moment of just the sound of the rain in their pointed ears, Zelda finally looked up and her clear pale blue eyes were pooling in salty tears. "I know it's not enough... But I'm truly sorry Link. I was... horrible to you."   
  
Link shook his head, spraying water, and drops bounced off his lips as he spoke. "Don't you dare say you're sorry Zelda. You're right; it's not enough, it won't ever be enough..."   
  
She murmured, looking down at her naked cold feet as they sank into the wet earth, "... I know..."  
  
"No, you're going to hear this. For once you're going to hear what I have to say," he snapped and suddenly there was a flare of anger in his expression, "I came back to you so many times, thinking maybe that you might finally look in your heart to see you and I were meant for one another... But you never did. You crushed me each time... Well I'm through trying to persuade you to love me; I'm through pleading for you to care. If I'm not good enough for you then, fine, I will eventually deal. You are not the end of me."  
  
Her eyes grew flooded with tears that fell down her face, mixing with cold rain. "Link, please," she began in a quivering voice, "Just listen to me one more time. Even if you don't owe it to me, please will you?"   
  
Link gazed at her and for a minute she was certain he was going to refuse just then and turn and ride away. But instead he replied with a voice of stone, "Fine."   
  
There was a light of hope somewhere deep inside her that flickered once with his words. Zelda took her time of contemplating what to say, making sure it might come out as she wanted. Then blinking back the tears and tiny droplets that clung to the ends of her long fringing blonde eyelashes, she said, "First off, there is no way to justify what I did. I played with your heart too many times in my naiveness of love and other people's emotions... But you have to understand, I was afraid. Afraid to let myself fall in love with you... I hurt you so because I wanted to make it easier for us both to let go... Or else I knew it would kill me to marry Gaelith... I didn't mean though to harm you as much as I have. I see now that the games I played were wrong and fatal. I'm sorry."   
  
The young Hero digested her words without saying a word. He looked at her then and said straight into her gaze, "You did hurt me, whether you meant to or not mattters little." Then he went on in a more even tone, "But it was not all your fault. We were both naïve, I thought then that merely our love might bond us together... Now I see though that it takes much more. You made me realize not just dreams and hope can make a future. I was a silly young man, but now I know not to believe in these things..."   
  
Zelda shook her head and the word came flooding to her mouth softly, "No..."   
  
Yet Link went on, "I don't know if marrying Gaelith was right for you but you need someone better than me, Zelda. You desire someone who can provide for you and offer you all the lavishes that I cannot... We were too different for this to ever work; I see this now as you had so many days ago..."   
  
The Princess' lips trembled with stammered words and her heart's pulse climbed. "W-What? But... Can't we at least give it one more try? I-I was wrong when I said that."   
  
Link shook his head at her and without saying a word, turned and swung his leg over Epona, mounting her rain-slick saddle. His voice was heavy as he said, looking down with regret filled eyes, "Good bye."   
  
As he patted the rain out of his horse's long eye lashes and prepared to leave, bringing her hooves to a slow pace, Zelda's thoughts raced. This couldn't happen. How would she live without him, would she be destined to travel the kingdoms searching for him? "B-But," she mumbled softly and then with the clarity finally forming in her mind she said loudly, shouting almost, "You once asked me a question that still stays with me even now. Do you remember that question?"   
  
He halted his horse abruptly with a soft yanking of the reins and she snorted between the cold metallic bit. Link looked over to her, the distance swelling between them until they felt oceans apart. His words came out in a surprised, soft tone, "Of course I do... I asked if you could honestly throw away all we have or may have and never look back or question what might have been."  
  
She looked at him and her voice, though trembling slightly, was somehow clear and defiant as she had always been, "Well you know my answer now is no. At this moment I ask you the same? If the answer is yes then I want you to ride off and don't spare me any glances or bittersweet 'Good byes' for I'm afraid they would kill me..."  
  
Her heartbeat climbed and she allowed the tears in her voice to finally be heard. Sobs came now unwillingly, "... But if the answer... is no... Then I beg of you... Please don't leave and make us both regret this moment here in time... for the rest of our lives...."   
  
Link gazed at her, his hardened eyes focusing on her and she could see his thoughts running wild behind the orbs of blue. Should he risk his love once more and just put it all out there for her to decide to crush at will, would he allow himself to be vulnerable to her once more? Finally he quieted his mind swiftly and followed his heart. He dismounted his mare and crossed over the distance that separated them.  
  
Now they were only a few feet away, his gaze piercing hers. The rain fell on in an onslaught of cold drops, hitting their shoulders and the tops of their heads. He found himself wishing to take her into his arms and comfort her rain slick lips with his own. Yet he held back still and inquired quietly, "What about your obligations?" Link was referring to the law and the King, who had both pushed her into marriage with Gaelith.  
  
She met his stare and she seemed a bit more wiser and confident then he had ever known her to be. "I can handle them," she said. "The law isn't set in stone, it can be rewritten by the monarchy... And as for my father... After my mother died, all he ever wanted was the best for me. I think I can make him see that by allowing me to marry whom I chose that is making me the happiest I could ever be."   
  
Link nodded softly and then he asked, "How do I know you won't change your mind and decide that this was all a mistake again?"   
  
Zelda digested his words thoughtfully and tears sprang to her eyes once again. When she finally spoke, it was as if the sound of the rain suddenly lulled to allow for her soft voice to float clearly through the chilled morning air. "Because how could a kiss between two people who love each other, truly love each other, ever be a mistake."  
  
The young man stood there for a moment with the rain pouring down on him and stared at her. The way her glossy pale cerulean eyes glistened like the lapping waves of an ocean, the way the moisture clung to her lush pink tinted lips, her golden hair plastered to her forehead in long flowing locks. Then a soft bittersweet lopsided smile finally broke through his icy expression and he took her cheek in his hand, feeling her wet smooth skin under his palm. He claimed her lips gently with his own, feeling the warmth he had missed for so long. Their psychic bond was so strong that he felt as if he could almost sense her passion and inner thoughts crying out in joy. He kissed her then as the rain fell on.   
  
When they finally pulled away from each other's lips, Zelda's small arms were linked around his neck and she was looking up into his face. The rain was spilling down her hair and her nightgown clung scandalously close to her well-shaped body. "Does this mean you're willing to give it another chance?" she whispered, hope in her tone.   
  
The man looked down into her large eyes and the droplets that clung to her long golden lashes and chuckled, "Heck no! I was just getting that raincheck you owed me from back on Death Mountain!"  
  
The Princess sighed in annoyance even though a smile played across her warm lips and she said, "Link..."   
  
Link pulled the young woman closer to him and touched her smile with his calloused thumb, wanting forever to see that pretty smile as it was just then. His face grew more serious and he responded, "Yes. I don't think I could ever live without you now that I have you back."  
  
Her smile grew brighter and she whispered, "Me too." His body felt warm against hers even though they were both drenched in icy rain. She ran a free hand through his soaking mane of shaggy hair and then rested it on his tunic. "What are we going to do now?" Zelda finally asked.  
  
A lopsided mischievous grin fell over his slick handsome face and he began to unfasten his cloak from around his neck. "I don't know," he said and then removed his warm woolen cloak and placed it over Zelda's small shoulder. "But lets find out together." He met her gaze and gave her a look as if to say he would never want to be with anyone but her, she was his contentment.   
  
Then he turned and mounted Epona, her saddle a bit slippery with rain. He offered down a hand to her and the Princess took it, she looking odd in his oversized man's cloak yet not caring a wit. She sat behind him on the horse and wrapped her arms around his waste. Link started his mare into a nice pace and they rode out of Fawaee Castle together, in the rain.   
  


~*~  


  
Closing Note: Wait, there's more! I promise!  
  



	7. Part Six: The Goddesses’ Plan (2/2)

Author's Note:   
  
Hello to all. This is a romantic Link/Zelda fic that I've decided to write. It's a romance/drama/smidgen of comedy. It takes place in the Ocarina of Time setting, after Zelda sent Link back and they grew up to be 18. There personalities are a little unlikable in the beginning but that's only because I wanted to make believable strife between them. There wouldn't be much conflict if they were both wonderfully pleasant and perfect people, now would there? No adult themes or swearing in this story.   
  
Please read ~ review ~ and enjoy!  


  
**It's Love; Now Or Never  
**

  


By *Jasmine*  
  
**Part Six: The Goddesses' Plan   
(2/2)**  


  
The sun was just rising over the Sacred Realm, casting golden bands of warmth and giving back life to the slumbering emerald landscape. Birds began to sing their joyful songs and the clear sky reflected in the basin of the waterfall, a bright blue plane churning with foamy ripples like clouds.   
  
Nayru knelt beside the rock pool, her knees sinking deep into the damp sand and sticking to her pale skin. She looked over into the waters and her long azure hair fell in soft waves into the pool, just the ends of the strands brushing the surface. A smile played across her blue tinted lips and she said happily in her mature, wise voice, "They are finally together."   
  
The Goddess of Courage was sitting by her side, her green dress hiked up over her creamy thighs and her short, deep emerald hair tucked back behind her ears. She coed delightfully, "Yes and this time for forever!" Then her eyes narrowed and filled with a tint of anger. Farore seethed in her sweet voice, "Boy, I wish I could have popped that Prince one right in the nose."  
  
Her sister laughed and even though she shared her feelings, she had to be the voice of reason. "Well at least in the end it all worked out perfectly," she said, "Our plan went well I'd say."  
  
Farore nodded happily and exclaimed, "Yes perfect!"   
  
"What are you two birds twittering about?" Din sighed, off by the edge of the beach were she was just arising from a sleep, wiping away dreams and sand from the corners of her eyes. Her long legs were bare of her boots and now lay behind her in long sinewy limbs of flawless slender tan flesh.   
  
The emerald hued Goddess chirped, "The Princess and the Hero finally are together!"   
  
The Goddess of Power seemed a bit excited and her long crimson hair was not clasped back for the first time to allow for more comfort during sleep and now tumbled down her shoulders in straight gleaming strands. She asked, "Really? But I thought up until now Zelda was marrying that Prince and Link was leaving..."  
  
Farore shook her head, sending her green hair spinning about in the air. "No. You should have seen it Din! Zelda told the Prince off and slapped him finally..."   
  
The red haired Goddess interjected with an enthusiastic outcry, "O I wish I could have seen that! I wanted to do the same since I first saw that arrogant snob."   
  
"Me too..." Farore continued, "And then the Princess chased after Link, even in the rain, and stopped him from leaving. She confessed her love and how she could give a care to what her father thinks and then... they kissed!"   
  
Din gasped, "Just like that?"   
  
The Goddess of Courage nodded her head and her emerald eyes shown with smug satisfaction. "Just like that," she replied.   
  
Nayru looked at the usually callous Din and said in surprise, "Why, sister, is that a tear I see now in your eye?"   
  
Indeed there was a sheen to the Goddess of Power's eyes and a single tear-shaped drop plummeted down her cheek. Din wiped it away quickly, brushing it under her hard hands, and snapped, though unable to hide the sniffle in her voice, "No! It's just... the sunrise caught in my eyes, that's all. Why would I cry about... something like that? After all, you know I have no affection for love and matters of the heart, especially when it involves mortals of all things."   
  
Nayru smiled softly and nodded knowingly. "Of course. If you were crying though, that would be quite all right too. What happened was so beautiful. I never myself had known Hylians were capable of that deep of emotions but I guess they are..."   
  
The Goddess of Power rolled her crimson eyes and rose from her bed of soft silky sea grass and shifting grit dunes. She sighed, tying her hair back as she did so, "Well I'm just happy you two are finally done prying into those weak beings' lives. Now I won't have to hear about it any longer."   
  
Farore grinned brightly and her heart shaped face glowed mischievously. "Yes of course," she said and then exchanged a knowing glance with Nayru.   
  


~*~  


  
ClosingNotes:   
  
Awww!! *Sap alert* I know it was a kind of a lovey-dovey ending but I just couldn't finish my little mini-drama any other way. What you think of it all-in-all? I hope you liked it for the most part. I know some people wanted me to end up having Gaelith killed, by Link or any other means possible (In some cases by the reviewer themselves hehe) but I didn't think he was that terrible to die, just get a slap. He was somewhat of a snob but he was as prisoner to his title as Zelda was... Or at least that's how I saw it but whata I know right? Lol. I hope I don't get too much flames for that! ^_^;;  
  
Thanks for giving me such great, positive reviews thus far, that made me very happy and pushed me to keep writing even though I'm known for giving things up after awhile. Look out for my next series, which should be coming soon and will be a lot different then what you're use to! Well it was a fun ride but now it's over so hit the road, ya bums! Hehe.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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